If things were different
by Perceptions of a young dreamer
Summary: What if the Justice League had met Raven in different circumstances and what if they took her in? Life would surely be different for Raven, along with proper training and with earth's mightiest heroes to support her; a childhood romance turning into a everlasting love with Speedy is just bonus.
1. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer- I don't own the Teen titans or the justice league._**

**_And I am kind of obsessed with Speedy Raven pairing, so here's another one. _**

21st March 2010

The sun was shining brightly; it was a perfect summer day after a few weeks of dark clouds and rain. It really would be a perfect day if some thugs would not causing havoc in Metropolis as Superman fought to save the innocent civilians and deliver justice.

The red caped hero was shooting his laser beams, protecting the civilians from the violent rouble makers when his sight landed on a woman who looked heavily pregnant. She was standing beneath a damaged building and a thug was approaching her. He used his super speed and darted off towards them, the woman looked almost unconscious.

The building started to sway lightly; he saw this and realized that it was most likely to fall. He immediately took action, hitting the thug unconscious but not too much to cause fatal harm, then he turned his attention to the woman, her hands were on her swollen belly trying to protect her child, but she was swaying lightly and when the hero looked up he saw her eyes half hooded now that there wasn't anyone to threaten her or her unborn child and was about to fall when Superman immediately reached the woman and scooped her up in his arms.

Without any further ado, he flew to the nearest hospital trusting the metropolis police to take care of the rest of the thugs. As he was about to land in the hospital the woman in his arms woke up distressed and clutched her stomach in agony, hearing her accelerated heartbeat the hero realized that she was about to give birth.

He immediately shouted for a doctor or a nurse, who immediately came with a stretcher and the hero placed the woman carefully on the stretcher, she was immediately taken away for it was time for her baby to come into the world.

Usually Superman would leave the woman in the experienced hands of the doctors but for some reason there was a nagging feeling in his heart which prevented him from going anywhere. Listening to his heart, he waited and paced the sterile hallway awaiting the doctors to come and tell him about the condition of the woman.

After an hour there was a sound of a baby crying, which he caught due to his super hearing. Hearing the soft sound of the wails the baby gave out, a gentle smile was etched on his face and soon the doctors came out of the delivery room and approached the hero.

Soon his smile disappeared when he saw the frown on the doctor's face and the doctor explained that the baby is in perfect condition but the delivery took a toll on the woman's body causing an internal bleeding and that her very levels of blood pressure is not helping the situation at all, the doctors told the Superhero that she won't be able to survive any longer and that she is asking for the man that saved her.

The hero took a deep breathe, he hated to see civilians die and always felt that it was somehow his fault; if only he had gotten there sooner then maybe the baby would not have to grow up motherless. He steeled himself and pushed all those thoughts away and went inside the room, his red cape flowing behind him.

The room was quiet with only a heart monitor beeping in the background which was also quite weak, but his eyes were focused on the woman lying on the bed holding her baby tenderly with love shining in her eyes.

She seemed to notice him and gestured for Clark to come closer and when he did she looked up at his gentle face and said "Thank you."

He smiled softly in reply and looked at the sleeping baby in her weak and shaking arms. Suddenly she lifted her baby towards him and he in reflex held the tiny, light baby in his arms carefully but when their fingers brushed.

His mind flashed with a vision in which he saw a young woman dressed in white being offered by a cult, a red skinned four eyed beast or more like a demon emerging from the fire and taking the woman in white with him, the woman becoming pregnant and power radiating off her belly.

Then the vision changed, it seemed like a prophesy now, earth engulfed with fire and lava the red skinned beast causing havoc and the tiny baby with black shadows radiating around her.

The hero opened his eyes and looked at the dying woman; she is the one who he saw in his vision. He looked at the tiny creature in his arms and saw her tuft of violet hair and her slightly grey skin and red gem on her forehead, she was a supernatural being.

"Please take care of my baby." The woman pleaded with the hero. "Why do you trust me? A complete stranger with your child." The hero asked in slight awe, his heart was fluttering when he saw the baby open her big and unnatural amethyst eyes stared at him.

"Because, you are a kind hearted soul….many people passed by and saw me helpless but you were the only one who stopped to help….I just ask for you to take care her…my baby girl….Raven."

"Raven." He said with gentleness in his tone and gave an assuring look to the woman who in relief looked at her daughter and gave her a kiss on the forehead and breathed her last

He promised himself that he would ensure the wellbeing of the baby girl and started walking away from the room with her tucked in his arms but before he could cross the threshold, the baby seemed to understand that her mother was no more, it seemed like she was in pain as she started wailing and the hero panicked but it reached to a whole another level when he saw black shadows wrap around the baby's tiny clutched fists and started shooting in different directions, breaking the equipment it came in contact with.

Clark realized that she had powers and more importantly the baby was distressed because she was away from the safety only a mother could provide; he placed the baby on his shoulder, supporting her head as she cried and he started rocking her while humming softly.

Slowly her sobs died down and she fell asleep on his shoulder, Superman sighed and placed a kiss on her head and decided that he had to alert the Justice League of this tiny supernatural being in his arms and headed towards the Justice League headquarters, the baby secure in his arms and the league members alerted.

Superman arrived at the Justice League headquarters, his red cape wrapped around the baby safe in his arms. He entered and saw Batman, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Doctor Fate and Wonder Woman in attendance, the rest of the heroes were in their respective cities.

"Superman…Why did you call this urgent league meeting?" asked the dark knight, him going straight to business and his face stoic.

The Kryptonian came forward with all he heroes forming a semi-circle around him as he unwrapped the bundle in his arms, unlatching his cape and wrapping it around the infant to keep her warm and showed the sleeping baby to his colleagues.

The heroes looked confused but before he could say anything Doctor Fate spoke up astonished "How did you find her Superman?"

All confused eyes turned from the baby to the red caped hero and he explained everything that happened today, even the visions and the powers he saw the infant to possess.

Everyone took a couple moments to digest this news, Batman was the first to snap out of this and he turned towards Doctor Fate and asked "You know who this baby is?"

"Yes, she is the daughter of a demon named Trigon, I can sense her powers….

I was once visiting other dimensions and I saw her mother, Arella pregnant with the same powers radiating of from her stomach in a dimension called Azarath."

"What exactly are her powers?" Wonder Woman enquired next.

"She has telekinesis, empathy, power of teleportation and levitation and her powers are sourced from her emotions and her energy." He explained.

"But how did she get them? Tell us everything about this baby." Batman said.

"She got her powers from her father…her father is Trigon, his followers call him Scath and he is a demon but her mother is-was a human. She is a half demon." He said with a sigh

Before anybody could say anything, he added "There is a prophesy about her- She will bring Trigon to earth, cause the end of the world…

…but she is also the only one who will be strong enough to defeat him."

"Does she have to be alive to become his portal?" Batman asked after a few moments of silence and Superman pulled the now awake baby closer to him in reflex, he had vowed to keep her safe and well and he intended to keep that vow.

The others were shocked and started at Batman with eyes wide open. Doctor Fate said "No, their connection is through their blood and whether she is dead or alive won't matter. He will ascend unless she is strong enough to defy him."

Black Canary was the one spoke next "Regardless of that, she deserves a chance to live her life. We can teach her on how to use her powers for good, we can make her strong enough to defy Trigon…she is just a baby who has not even lived the first day of her life yet. She needs a chance." For some reason the heroine felt protectiveness towards the little girl.

The dark knight let her words sink in him, he understood her words and nodded in acceptance that his earlier thought was wrong, he looked at the little girl looking at him with her big doe eyes and in the arms of the man of steel who was holding her closely, protectively.

The little girl looked at him curiously and he felt even guiltier of his earlier thoughts when she smiled at him and started wiggling her arms to get closer to him.

Superman walked towards the dark knight, and before he could protest he carefully placed Raven in his arms, who was wiggling to get closer to the bat themed hero, almost looking fascinated by a man dressed in black with pointy ears.

He was holding her a little awkwardly at the beginning and shot Superman a glare when he chuckled at him but then he showed Batman how to correctly hold a baby.

She calmed down in his arms and started up at him with curiosity and awe filled in her amethyst eyes and then started exploring his armour and patted the bat symbol on his chest man times. He silently cursed himself for being so soft but the tiny tremble in her lips when he tried to give her back to Superman melted his heart.

"She likes you, Batman." Superman observed. For the first time, he was a tenderness in the fierce vigilantes moments as he tried to readjust the infant in his arms when she started moving, wanting to explore the rest of his armour.

Raven reached up and patted the part of his face which was not covered by his cowl, her soft baby hands explored his face with fascination, tugging here and there and all the heroes looked in shock at seeing the dark knight so soft with a supernatural baby.

The infant in his arms had owned the bat's heart the moment she smiled that baby smile of hers and whatever she could do was strengthening that bond that was just born. He looked away and glared at Green Arrow and Superman who were talking about him with light chuckles flowing from them. But before he could say anything Raven started crying in his arms, for she had not done exploring the Bat themed hero's face yet and all eyes turned to the dark knight who was rocking the girl in his arms, making cooing sounds which only Superman's super hearing could hear.

Soon her wails tuned down and she started poking and patting the dark knight again.

After a couple of minutes Green Arrow said "Who will mentor her?"

"I can teach her magic but she needs to learn control." Doctor Fate said.

They thought for a while and Black Canary said "I can teach her to control her powers like I control my Canary cry and I can teach her hand to hand combat." The others nodded and Batman spoke "It's settled then, Black Canary will mentor Raven and Doctor Fate will work with her to develop her magic."

"But who will she live with?" Wonder Woman asked looking at the little girl fondly in the dark knight's arms already having an inclination of the answer. The baby was now sleeping, resting peacefully in the strong arms of the hero.

Superman spoke up "If it's alright with Batman I think he would be best person as he lives in Gotham where Black Canary also does, she could mentor Raven easily….and also because Raven seems to like him the most." He said the last part with a teasing but fond smile towards the dark knight.

The Kryptonian knew that Raven would be safe with his best friend, the dark knight. Batman protected what he cared about with everything he has with a fierceness which is unmatched and Raven had made a place in his heart.

And since he came to Gotham often he could check on Raven, keeping the promise he made to her mother and also to himself.

Batman nodded after thinking for a while. Being a parental figure was a huge responsibility and he wasn't sure he could do it but seeing the girl sleeping peacefully in the crook of his neck he knew that he would do anything to keep this precious girl safe, the one who charmed the mightiest heroes on earth with a single smile and look.

He transported himself and the girl in his arms to the Bat Cave through the Zeta Tubes where Alfred was waiting for him, as always monitoring the bat computer. The old man came near the man he raised as his son and saw him cradling a baby to his chest and looked surprised at the vigilante.

Batman explained everything to the butler in hushed tones as to not wake the baby up and slowly transferred her to Alfred slowly as to not jostle her as he quickly changed out his bat suit and when he returned he saw Alfred looking at the baby with a soft smile, there was no doubt that she was supernatural her tuft of violet hair, slight grey skin and a tiny red gem on her forehead and very enchanting. He was immediately enamoured by her.

But the peacefulness of the moment died down when Raven opened her amethyst eyes and started crying uncontrollably, Bruce rushed towards the baby and took her in his arms and tried to rock her to soothe her as he did in the headquarters but her wails did not stop.

Bruce turned to Alfred with a worried look on his face, his one arm supporting Raven's head and the other wrapped around her protectively, he was lost he didn't know what to do. He still swayed a little to calm the baby but her cries did not stop.

"Have you fed her Master Bruce?" Alfred asked, almost understanding why the baby was crying. Bruce thought back and shook his head in a negative motion. Alfred nodded and said turning to go towards the kitchen "She is hungry Master Bruce, I will prepare a bottle for her promptly…please bring her upstairs."

Bruce nodded and the thundering beats of his heart slowly died down, now knowing why the precious little girl was crying. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead, her sobs still present and said gently to her "Let's get you something to eat."

As they reached the kitchen, Alfred was just testing the temperature of the milk and if it was suitable for the infant; Bruce was suddenly very thankful for the butler, who at least had some experience in taking care of a child. Alfred handed the bottle to Bruce and showed him how to correctly place the baby in his arms and feed her when he saw that the man was reluctant in parting with the girl.

Her cries instantly died down when milk filled her belly and her eyes started to grow lidded when she had her fill, now sleepy again. Alfred took Raven from the Bruce's arms and patted her back so that she burped and then placed her back in his arms.

They didn't have a crib so he placed Raven between walls of pillows in the master bedroom where he would sleep, he can't leave the baby alone that would be irresponsible and he would not sleep peacefully, the desire to check on her would cloud his mind the entire night.

After placing the baby, Alfred was leaving Bruce's bedroom to retire to his own quarters for the night, he turned when he heard the baby fussing and smiled at the sight, Bruce placed his arm around the infant and her fussing stopped and she went back into dream land with a soft smile on her delicate face. After so long did Alfred see his Master Bruce at peace and the fondness his eyes was also not unnoticed by him. The manor would no longer be silent, haunted by the ghosts of the past. He switched off the lights and went to his quarters for the night.

In the coming week Bruce became busy, first and foremost he filed the legal documents to adopt Raven, Doctor Fate told them about Raven's mother who was originally from Gotham City. They tracked them down and found Raven's last name to be Roth. There was another Wayne now.

_Raven Roth Wayne_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Re- written version.**_

_**Disclaimer- I don't own the characters only the story is mine.**_

Bruce has faced many challenges in his life, his parents being shot in front of him as he stood there helpless, him taking over Wayne Enterprises and living up to the Wayne legacy, his training which took him around the world to become a vigilante.

But there was another challenge now presented in his life which he never thought he would get to experience, parenthood.

He was the parent of a half demon and he'd be lying if he said that he didn't love her with all his heart. His no supernatural rule came with an exception which even he didn't know about and that exception was his baby girl, Raven.

He has had her for a year now and in this past year he has experience a lot of things, waking up to a baby crying because she was hungry or needed a diaper change at odd hours of the morning; being attentive to the baby monitor placed on his night stand for any sound displaying discomfort of his baby and always checking up on her in the nursery he made for her, right next to his room after he came back from patrols.

Parenthood was not easy and he thanked heavens that he had Alfred by his side to help him. The old butler loved taking care of the tiny curious baby who loved hiding in the most unexpected of places and giving Bruce almost a heart attack when he couldn't find her and the fact that she had magic did not make the situation any easier.

But Bruce couldn't complain, having her brought him joy and with the world as it was now very few things did so. He still remembers the time when Alfred and he were trying to get Raven to say her first word, but the stubborn baby she is didn't give them the satisfaction, until one unexpected morning. The memory still brings a fond smile on Bruce's lips.

_It was one of the rare days when Bruce had an off from running the Wayne enterprises, he usually spent the day catching up on the sleep he had missed out on but after ten in the morning it seemed like Raven had enough of him sleeping and had somehow gotten up on his elevated bed, Bruce suspected that Alfred had something to do with it._

_Raven crawled on top of his stomach and started patting him, but Bruce was in a deep sleep to wake up from these minor disturbances. She huffed and crawled further till she got access to his head and was very lightly tugging his hair but even when that didn't work she patted his face and opened his eyes not very harshly but with enough force to startle him._

_The vigilante woke up startled and if it wasn't for his sharp reflexes he would have knocked the baby off but thankfully he got up with her secure in his arms. _

_It still took him a couple of minutes to remove the sleepiness from his eyes once his body realized that he wasn't in any danger and once he did, he looked down to the baby in his arms who was smiling at him almost smugly and wiggled her arms to reach to his face or more specifically his nose, probably to grab it._

_He smiled at his daughter and cooed "So someone wants to play, huh?" and started tickling the baby mercilessly, the smile not leaving his face. She laughed uncontrollably and started wiggling to get away from him but his strong arms did not relent._

_After another couple of minutes of tickling, he stopped and got up from the bed moving towards the doors as he said "Let's get some breakfast, my little troublemaker."_

_The purple haired baby just smiled at him and rested her head on his shoulder, wrapping her cute, tiny arms around him as much as she could. A sense of peace just rushed through his blood and he felt content and happy and the reason for these feelings was in his arms._

_He turned to look at her, his heart full of love and said "I love you Raven, my daughter." And kissed her forehead, he was walking down the stairs when a tiny baby voice, softly said "Dada."_

_He stopped in his tracks and looked at the beaming baby in his arms who just patted his face. His heart almost expanded when it sunk in on him and a smile so bright spread across his lips._

_He did love the little girl as if she was his own. But when she called him 'dada' he felt affection from someone and that to after a long time, he knew that she meant it and her attachment to him was true and pure, like family. The dark knight was astonished at how much emotion one single word could convey and how much happiness it would bring him._

_He also realized how much responsibility she put on him with one word, she had given him a big responsibility and he would do his best to make sure he is up to her expectations. He smiled even wider and peppered kisses on her forehead as she squealed while saying with love in his heart "Yes, I am your dada."_

Alfred read to her stories every night, whenever Bruce was busy with his company or being a vigilante; there was crib near the bat computer so that he could tend to her and also monitor the computer, he played with her and smiled whenever the baby crawled- followed him wherever he went.

He loved Raven for bringing joy to Bruce, his life had become taking care of his parent's company and fighting crime, he did not take time for himself and started to grow more serious every day but with her coming in their lives, he took time to play with her, take care of her and was happier.

Not only Alfred and Bruce were enamoured by the little girl, Superman came frequently to visit as his hero personality and also as Clark Kent and he loved playing with her as did Wonder Woman.

Black Canary and Green Arrow also came to visit many times and Raven loved seeing so many people around her, she was mostly amused by Green Arrow's hood and kept knocking it back or pulling it which made everyone and also the bat themed hero to chuckle, a sound foreign to the heroes but now frequent with the little girl.

Time seemed to fly and now Raven was four years old, her powers had started growing and because of that she was being home schooled and now it was time for her training to start with Doctor Fate, in a couple more years will her training for combat will start, she was still too young right now and if Bruce had things in control then he would not subject his daughter into the harsh life of vigilantism, if could he would protect her from everything.

But he knew that for her to grow and become a good person and defy her destiny she needed this. And to calm his heart he made a compromise that he would be the first person to train her in hand to hand combat, he knew that Black Canary would not harm his daughter but he needed to develop her basic skills himself, at least for the peace of his mind.

Raven's training had just began with Doctor Fate four times a week in the afternoon while Bruce and Alfred home schooled her, they didn't want her to miss out on her education. They protected her form public eye as much as they could; paparazzi hounded them for getting a picture of Bruce Wayne daughter.

Bruce saw the longing in his daughter's eyes to explore the world outside the manor, so he did the best he could to protect her from the media, never letting them take a picture of her whenever he took her outside.

She was the apple of his eye and also of Alfred's and he swore he saw the old butler's eyes glisten when Raven drew a crude picture with crayons of stick figures which were supposed to be her and Alfred holding hands and gift it to the British man on his birthday.

Suddenly with the blink of an eye Raven was six years old and it was time for her to learn self- control from Black Canary; Bruce could swear it was yesterday he was awkwardly holding her in his arms not knowing that she would soon become one of the most important persons in his life, his daughter.

Black Canary had started teaching her self- control, they had also tried meditation as advised my Doctor Fate; Raven took a chant as advised by Doctor Fate to focus her energy. The sorcerer started teaching her basic magic and develops her magic slowly. Batman unexpectedly visited her once; he had returned early from a league mission and had thought of seeing his daughter first and also check on her training.

"Hey Bruce, what are you doing here? I thought you weren't back in till Saturday." Black Canary asked, approaching the masked man.

"The mission got over early and I got her some spell books I managed to locate in my travels." He said showing her the books in his hands. He looked at the little girl with a rare smile on his face; the heroine saw this and said "You are quite fond of her…aren't you?"

"She may not be my flesh and blood but she is my daughter." He said with firmness in his voice and the heroine smiled at seeing such a rare, emotional side of her usual stoic friend and said "Go on, she missed you." Black Canary said and his heart elated.

Batman approached the little girl and she seemed to notice his presence as she stopped her meditation and ran over to him and hugged him whilst exclaiming happily "You are here! You are here! I missed you dad" Batman kneeled down and allowed her to hug him around his neck, he sported one of his very rare smiles and said "I missed you too…"

"How have you been Raven?" he asks parting from the hug and looking her over with protectiveness surging inside him. "I'm fine dad….are you okay?"

His smile never left his face as said "I'm fine just a few bruises, but you know they come with the job." He tried to dismiss it but he knew that Raven was going to insist on healing him as soon as they reach home. She hugged him again, feeling the slight pain through her empathy and her father figure smiled and hugged her back.

"….and I got you some books." He tried to change the subject, patting her back.

She parted from him and looked into his hands; the dark knight was holding a few books. He gave her a few books first saying "These are some books of magic, for your training." She took them gratefully and after a moment he handed her the rest of the books saying "These are for pleasure reading."

She looked at him with a confused expression and said "Pleasure reading?" he smiled and said "You read these when you are tired or when you are bored…if you like these then you can explore the library we have at home." She smiled and hugged him again while saying "Thank you."

0O0

Age: Seven years old

Raven was now learning self-control and hand-to- hand combat from her mentor, Black Canary, she was developing her magic under the guidance of Doctor Fate and Batman occasionally taught her stealth and detective work and was the first to teach her about how to defend herself.

With the development of a relationship between Black Canary and Green Arrow, she saw Green Arrow a lot; he sometimes taught her how to aim, saying that it was great for concentration and developing observational skills.

All the league heroes were very fond of Raven, they occasionally came to visit her and sometimes taught her what they knew and helped developing her powers, and sometimes they played with her or just simply spent their time with her.

Green Arrow adopted a boy called Roy Harper, he was brought up on the Navajo reserves and the hero had taken upon himself to mentor the younger boy and develop his skill in archery. The league thought that it would be for the best if the two young protégés met, they needed to learn teamwork and companionship.

Black Canary and Batman took Raven to Green Arrow's house, they thought that it would be good for them to meet unofficially and soon; and start by becoming friends. Bruce knew that Raven should also interact with children close to her age and meeting with other protégé's would be her only chance to do so, they would understand her and she would not have to hide herself.

They entered the mansion and at the entrance of the house were Green Arrow or as he was without his uniform, it was Oliver Queen, next to him was a red headed boy who looked not more than raven's age, wearing a friendly smile on his face.

Black Canary or Dinah headed over to them with Raven standing back, a little shy and holding the very impeccably dressed Bruce's hand tightly. Bruce squeezed her hand back, comforting her and showing her that he was right there with her and slowly led her towards them.

Dinah looked at Oliver and gave him a sweet kiss, then she bent down and starting talking to the new red headed boy while Oliver did the same to Raven. After a couple of minutes Oliver nudged Roy, silently asking him to talk to Raven. Roy smiled brightly and walked over to Raven, he said with excitement in his voice "Hi, I am Roy. What's your name?" Bruce also nudged her a little, encouraging her to meet the young archer.

She smiled back and said "Raven." "Race you to the gates?" he said and ran away. Raven grinned and ran after him, suddenly her shyness gone feeling the warm aura of the new boy.

"They are getting along pretty well." Dinah said walking over to Oliver, they both looking at their protégé's. "Yeah, they are. Its good if they become friends, they need it." And Bruce silently agreed, his eyes never leaving his daughters, feeling happy seeing her happy. Yeah, all she needed was a friend.

Raven reached the gates before Roy and jumped up and down exclaiming "Roy's too slow! Roy's too slow!" he smiled and tackled her to the grass, and started pocking her and saying "You cheated."

"I did not" Raven defended with a pout forming on her lips and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Did to." The red head insisted again, both of them sitting on grass.

"Did not." She defended again.

"Did"

"Did not"

"Did, did, did, did, di-" Roy started chanting keeping his eyes closed and Raven huffed, she was starting to get annoyed so she reached up and pinched his nose, effectively stopping his rant.

The young archer was shocked, he opened his eyes and looked at the girl in front of them; there was a brief moment of silence between them before he started laughing uncontrollably. Raven was confused but joined in his laugh.

After a couple of moments, they calmed themselves down and he asked "Wanna be my friend?"

"What do we do as friends? I have never had any friends…." She admitted sadly, the red head shrugged and sat next to her and said "We promise to be there for each other forever."

"I can do that." She declared with a huge smile and boy smiled back in return and said "Then we are friends."

0O0

Green Arrow was teaching Roy the art of archery while Doctor Fate was meditating with Raven; they were slowly chanting and focusing their energy. Roy and Raven had started to have their training sessions together, occasionally they fought each other in hand to hand combat also under the guidance and supervision of Black Canary.

Today Batman was visiting to check on their training as did during the majority of their training but today Superman also decided to make an appearance.

Raven was meditating and she had a vision, she saw fire, everyone frozen in stone, water turned into lava, it was the end of the world. She could feel the pain and the destruction; she started to cry involuntarily without stopping her meditating. Superman was the only one who could hear it but before he could approach the little girl someone beat him to it and the red caped hero let him.

Her cries were soft so in between training nobody could hear them; coincidently Roy had turned around and was heading towards his friend at that moment. He saw her form levitating and he smiled. He loved talking to her, she had really grown on him, he just felt comfortable around her and when he saw her smile his heart started beating fast and a warm feeling filled him.

He neared her and saw her form shaking slightly; he approached her more cautiously and saw tears streaking down her face. Suddenly alarmed he ran over to her and lightly shook her while saying "Rae, come on. Open your eyes…I am here." Seeing this exchange Batman and Black Canary headed over to them and Doctor Fate opened his eyes from his mediation.

Raven opened her eyes, she saw Roy's concerned face in front of her, she stopped her levitation and hugged the boy tightly and cried on his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her comfortingly. Batman put his hand on Raven's shoulder after kneeling down to their level; Black Canary did the same looking at her protégé with worried eyes.

Raven turned around and hugged the dark night around his neck and described her vision and after a few seconds she asked in between sobs "Is-s…it se-set in stone-e." Black Canary said in a comforting and warm voice "The future never is Raven."

Batman pulled away from Raven and said while wiping her tears away "You just have to try your best and the future can, will change." Raven gave a watery smile and walked to Roy, they both were dismissed from their training for today.

Superman was the silent observer, he saw Roy and Raven growing closer ever since the day they were introduced to each other; they cared for each other and he had an inclination that their bond would evolve into something so much more. He decided not to say anything and let destiny take its time.

Batman turned to Doctor Fate and asked in his cold monotone "Do you know what happened?"

"Trigon is trying to contact her through their blood connection and trying for her to give in to him…he is attacking her psychologically." He explained.

After a short nod from Black Canary and Batman, Superman approached them and said "Should we try to train her in psychological warfare? She would at least not feel defenceless against Trigon and might be able to shield her mind from him."

"I agree with Superman, I will ask Martian Manhunter if he can come once a week and train her in psychological warfare." Batman said after a thought.

Meanwhile Raven was walking with Roy in the garden, he tried to make jokes and make the mood light but it was of no avail. Raven suddenly asked him "Would you be my friend even if you knew something bad about me?" he held her hand in a friendly way and said "I would always be your friend….remember? We will be there for each other forever." He reminded her the promise they made the first day they met.

She smiled a bit and then told the little archer about who her father was. After she was done she looked at Roy expectantly and he looked back at her and said "My answer doesn't change. You are my best friend, Rae. You will always be my best friend."

She hugged him and said "You will always be my best friend too, Roy."

0O0


	3. Chapter 3

_**Re-written version.**_

_**Assume standard disclaimer**_

Bruce Wayne was a billionaire philanthropist; he also had an alter ego, Batman. He brought many criminals to justice; he was mostly cold and serious. His life was mostly revolved around crime fighting and running his huge company.

He thought he had all that he needed, he had a mission to bring criminals to justice and as a multi billionaire he had the means to do so as well. And with the Justice League also formed, he wasn't lonely; he had friends. And he was naïve enough to believe it also. But the day he met Raven, he realized that there was a hole in his heart, in the form of family which the little girl had filled.

Now Bruce thought that he wouldn't need anything, he had his daughter and Alfred, he thought the Wayne family to be complete but he was yet again proved wrong when he went to the circus in his Brucie Wayne persona, (he couldn't take Raven as all the attention was fixed on him and later he was thankful he didn't when he saw the two trapeze artists fall to their deaths).

And he came back with a young boy Richard Grayson, young gymnast, who had dark locks and blue eyes, who was currently broken by witnessing the death of his parents. Bruce saw a lot of himself in the boy and he just couldn't let the boy go through foster care.

Pulling a few strings, Bruce got Richard to spend a few days at the manor before they started with the adoption process as he saw that Richard was very reluctant at being adopted by him; he hoped that meeting Raven and Alfred would change his mind.

They arrived at the manor, the ride was silent with Bruce trying to give space to the boy, he had just lost his parents.

He had already informed Alfred about the situation, a guest room had been prepared and Raven was already asleep. So he could speak to the tiny half demon before he introduced her to Richard.

They walked silently and entered the house, Bruce sneaking glances at the boy and smiled at seeing the awe and slight excitement in his eyes.

"Alfred this is Richard, he will be staying with us." Bruce introduced as they encountered the British man, he placed a hand on the young boy's shoulder when he felt his nervousness trying to reassure the young gymnast.

Alfred made a polite greeting to the boy, before bidding them a good night and telling the young boy to not hesitate to tell him if he needs something. Bruce was showing Richard his new room when the young boy said with pain still in his eyes "You don't have to take so much trouble Mr. Wayne, it was nice of awful nice of you to ta-take care of me but you can send me back if you wish."

Bruce stopped in his tracks and kneeled down to come to the height of the ten year old boy and said with a smile on his lips and his hands on the boy's shoulders "Richard, I am happy to have you here…you are not a bother, don't think that ever…

…I know the pain you are going through right now, but if you want to talk I am here." Tears were glistening in the boy's eyes and Bruce commended him for his strength; he had gone through the same pain when he was the boy's age, he knew how heart breaking it was and he only hoped that with time Richard would feel comfortable enough to live in the Wayne manor.

He got up from his kneeling position and offered a hand to the boy, and was pleased to see him reluctantly take it. They started walking towards the room which would be Richard's if he would want it. It was located near Raven's bedroom which was not so far away from the Master bedroom.

He hoped that as Raven filled the family shaped void in his heart, he would be able to do the same for the young boy.

He would introduce him to Raven tomorrow, after he had taken a good night's rest and would be delighted to know that they get along perfectly with Richard feeling more comfortable with someone of his age nearby.

His adoption papers would be finalized within a week of Richard asking shyly if he could live with them thanks to the connections Bruce has. And within a year he would take up the mantle of Robin, and fight crime by Bruce's side as Batman's sidekick while Raven trained with Black Canary and Doctor Fate.

0O0

Age: Nine years old

Raven and Roy were training with their mentors in Green Arrow's home in Star City and before that they had their school lessons, they had to be given a proper education also; Roy and Raven were engaged in hand to hand combat right now. Black canary was observing them carefully.

Raven aimed a punch at Roy's face but he caught it and raised her clenched fist up in air and was about to throw a left hook at her but she ducked at the right moment and freed her hand from his grasp and knocked him over with her legs. He caught himself and did a jump spin in air landing himself on his feet and immediately started attacking his opponent, Raven managed to block some hits but got a punch to her gut, she got angry and then started changing her stance from defensive to attacking.

After a while they were still fighting and it seemed like the fight was not going to end, Black Canary intervened and said "Great job…but your skills need a little more polishing. Raven we will work on your defence and Roy we will work on your attack tomorrow…You are dismissed."

Roy and Raven ended their fight and walked over to the benches and grabbed their water bottles, "Have you decided your costume and hero name?" Roy asked abruptly.

"Um…no. I think 'Raven' will be fine for me. What about you?" they didn't notice Green Arrow who had walked up to them.

"I can't decide a name but I have decided my costume." He said smugly.

She turned towards him and asked grinning "What colours?" Roy looked at her with a deep unrecognizable emotion is his eyes and said "Red, yellow and little bit of purple."

She cocked her head to the side and asked with confusion "Why purple?" Green Arrow had also turned his attention towards the protégés while drinking water.

"Because I think red and purple look good together." He said coyly, looking at the ground with a small smile on his face. Green Arrow almost choked on his water and snickered a bit when his adoptive son's words sank into him.

Raven turned a little red on her cheeks and before she could say anything Black Canary walked up to them and said "Batman is coming with his protégé Robin so that he could meet up with Roy….Roy, he will be joining you for training, three times a week just like Raven does."

The kids nodded and left, meanwhile Green Arrow was still laughing, Black Canary turned towards him and raised an eyebrow while saying "What's so funny?"

He smiled wide and said "Roy just flirted with Raven." Black Canary looked a little shocked and said "What?!" "Come on…he obviously likes her." The archer said after a pause.

"If Bruce hears about this then he will definitely flip." Black Canary said with amusement evident in her voice. "He will, won't he…it's a wonder how Bruce, the most stoic person I know would become such a wonderful and loving father."

"He really is her father." Black Canary said with a soft voice and her significant other could not agree more.

Raven and Roy were playing out on swings in the garden not knowing how an hour passed, when Black Canary called them inside and they saw the dark knight or Bruce Wayne, as he was without uniform standing beside a boy who looked their age, he had black coloured hair and was wearing black sunglasses, he was dressed in everyday clothes like the rest of them.

Raven excitedly walked up to the duo and was welcomed in the strong arms of her father, who had knelt down to her level and was asking how her training was, Raven was staying with Black Canary for a week, to train with her uninterrupted.

Black Canary loved having Raven over, they had bonded with Raven thinking of her as a friend or an older sister, on whom she could rely upon and talk about things which she couldn't with her father.

Raven parted from her father before happily turning to the raven haired boy, she gave him a light embrace which he happily returned with an affectionate smile on his face. They both were chatting when Green Arrow slightly nudged Roy to go and introduce himself.

Roy slowly approached them and said narrowing his eyes at the new boy "I am Roy."

The raven haired boy looked at him mentor for permission before happily greeting Roy "I'm Richard."

After the awkward introduction, the three protégés became friends. They mostly had their training sessions together and were allowed to spend time together so that they can develop trust and friendship between them. They were also allowed to accompany their mentors on some covert missions and sometimes they managed the tech while the league was off fighting some big villains.

Age: Eleven years old.

The young heroes were finally allowed to choose their costumes and their hero names, for they would be allowed to help their mentors on some missions.

"Always conceal your identity…nobody should never know your civilian identities. This can be helpful in undercover mission and helps to keep your past concealed which prevents the villains from gaining leverage on you." Batman explained.

"So which names have you chosen?" Green Arrow asked.

"Speedy." Roy said with a grin. "I have chosen to create a civilian name- Rachel Roth. My hero name will remain Raven and since I am not from earth it won't matter." Raven explained.

Since Robin was already the hero name of Batman's protégé he didn't answer this question. Batman nodded in acceptance at their answers.

"Only concealing your identity won't be enough…you have to conceal your face also." Black Canary advised. Roy or now Speedy wore a black and white mask over his eyes and grinned again, with Richard following suit.

Since Robin had entered the world of crime fighting at the age of nine years, to bring his parent's murderers to justice, he was already taught everything about the importance of concealing his identity from the world. He just had to pick out a uniform.

Ravens clasped a cloak around her neck and wore a hood, only her dazzling violet eyes and a little bit of her mouth were seen. Black Canary smiled at her adoptive daughter, she still was very fond of the little girl and it seemed as though Raven was quite attached to her mentor as well.

"Are your uniforms ready?" Batman asked. The three young heroes nodded and the dark knight added "Always keep them handy, you never know when you might have to wear them…first get the approval of your mentors on your uniforms and then we all will take a look."

Raven went to Black Canary and showed her a navy blue leotard with full sleeves, a belt of rubies, her boots and her cloak and golden and red clasp. She explained also "This is traditional clothing of warriors in Azarath, the gems on the belt help to focus my emotions and energy, the cloak is made from special material, it will adjust to any temperature and the clothes change colours according to my emotions."

Black Canary inspected the material and asked Raven "How did you find this material Raven?"

"Doctor Fate helped me with a spell which was initially used in Azarath to make clothes like this; to withstand any condition…this spell never decays." Raven said.

"Then it has my approval." Black Canary said with a smile.

Meanwhile Roy was showing Green Arrow his uniform; it was red, sleeveless with a yellow belt, red gloves which reached till his elbows and yellow shoes. He explained everything about his uniform and the archer nodded and then with a teasing smile said "I thought that you told Raven that you will a little bit of purple also on your uniform…since red and purple look great together."

Roy blushed and smiled and showed his mentor the purple coloured 'S' near the collar of his uniform. Green Arrow just laughed and said "It will take a lot to win that heart, Roy." while looking at Raven who was talking to her Batman and showing him her uniform, who was a little scandalised seeing the leotard but raven was convincing him well.

"Don't I know it…but I am willing to try." Roy said looking at the tiny sorceress. Green Arrow just smiled at his protégé. With that Roy headed towards Batman to show him his new uniform and also gain his approval.

0O0

Every once in a while the young heroes were given a day off when they could just be kids, Roy and Raven always spent these days together.

The two young protégés were playing in Wayne manor while their mentors were out on a date and Bruce was attending some important Wayne Enterprises' meeting, with Richard gone with Alfred to visit some of his old family in Haley's Circus.

Today Roy seemed a little sad and quiet, he usually was energetic and talkative and always coaxed Raven out from a corner, reading books and urged her to play with him. Today he just sat beside her in _silence,_ while she read the books from the extensive Wayne library. After a couple more minutes of silence, Raven snapped her book shut and turned to look at her friend sitting beside him. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts.

She put a hand on his shoulder and said softly "Roy, are you okay?" he snapped out of his thoughts and looked his friend and offered her a forced smile and said "I'm fine, Rae."

She sighed "Don't lie to me Roy…please tell me what is troubling you." When she saw that he was going to protest she raised her hand towards his nose, she had developed a habit of clutching his nose when he would annoy her and said "Tell me, or you know I will pull your nose." He gave her a weak smile but then after a moment's silence, his shoulders slumped and he said with a cracked voice "Today is the day…I lost my parents, and I-I don't ev-even remember much about th-them…I just miss them and my tribe so much…and I feel lonely."

Raven just hugged him and said "You will never be lonely Roy…I will always be here for you." Roy's eyes welled up a little and he hugged her back and cried a little on her shoulder; after a while he muttered a 'thank you'. She pulled back and smiled at him; Roy picked up her book and said sheepishly "Will you read to me? I-It gets my mind of things."

Raven just nodded with a small smile gracing her features, they sat comfortably on the couch and Raven started reading out her book, after a few chapters she saw Roy holding her cape and sleeping on the opposite side of the couch. Raven chuckled a little and then she too passed out after reading a few more chapters.

And that's how their mentor's found them when they returned from their date. The two young heroes sleeping on the couch with Roy clutching Raven's cape and Raven holding an open book.

They just smiled at them. "See I told you that he likes her." Green Arrow said with a chuckle, "Yeah…you know if Bruce gets to know then he will go crazy."

Green Arrow cocked his head in confusion and the heroine just chuckled and said "Don't you see how he narrows his eyes whenever Roy and Raven hug, like he wants nothing more than to put an ocean's distance between them; though it is completely understandable for a father to be protective of his daughter." Green Arrow thought over her words and shook his head and snickered.

"But they do look cute together." Black Canary said and Green Arrow agreed with a smile while they both looked at the sleeping young heroes finding peace- something that was so rare in today's world- in each other.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Re- Written Version**_

_**Assume Standard disclaimer.**_

Age: Twelve years old

Thunder was roaring in the sky, lightning was striking with such fury that it seemed that the clouds above was in great agony as were the people on the ground.

Blood was gushing out of her wound, her powers starting to grow rampant with all the pain she was feeling and her empathy also giving her a headache as she could feel the emotions of her brother and her best friend, their worry, panic and sadness in full without any of her mental shields which were taught to her by Martian Manhunter.

Her drowsiness started increasing; her eyes were not willing to stay open. It seemed so easy to just close her eyes and rest, the pain was getting too much. Maybe if she would just close her eyes then the pain would go away. She could hear the panicked voices of Richard and Roy telling her to keep her eyes open but the allure of darkness and rest was too great for her to not succumb to it. The last thing she was Roy's handsome face, etched with worry lines as she closed her eyes and succumbed to darkness.

Roy and Richard were panicking; they didn't know what to do, they didn't have any means to go back to the justice league headquarters to get Raven the help she needs right now, her powers had died down and both the young heroes did not know if that was a good thing or not. All they could do was wait for the heroes to come.

Robin was trying to stop the bleeding with his cape and applying pressure on the wound, he had to save his sister, at all costs. While Roy was frozen at his spot, looking at the girl he had grown up with, his best friend bleeding out while he couldn't do anything but think back to how everything went downhill and that too so fast.

A recon mission had gone very wrong; Robin, Speedy and Raven were supposed to find information about the recent attacks happening around the world and report it back to the League. They had successfully completed many missions as a team and this mission was also expected to go as smoothly. They fought the henchmen and gained the desired information.

They found that the Joker was behind these attacks and everything went downhill from that discovery.

The three teenagers were a little frightened seeing Batman's nemesis and one the most dangerous villain in front of them. They quickly sent the League a message and were expecting the heroes to show up any second. They were ordered to find cover and not engage with the deranged villain under any circumstances.

When Joker spotted them, he shot bullets at them furiously while expelling his Joker venom in the air. Robin yelled at them to not inhale at any cost but it was getting difficult to do that when they were dodging bullets. Raven formed a black energy dome over them, to protect from the venom as well as the bullets but it getting harder to concentrate with every passing minute. They were moving while inside the dome formed by the empath.

In a moment's waver from her concentration, her shield became weaker and a bullet hit her near her collarbone, just above her heart. The boys shouted after her and came to her side but before they could say or do anything Raven's eyes glowed white and there was a wave of black energy all over the forest. The bullets stopped flying towards them.

Speedy was snapped out of his thoughts when suddenly a bat-a-rang sliced through the air and deflected a knife coming towards the unsuspecting teenagers. Robin looked up and saw his mentor with Black Canary, Green Arrow and Superman descending from the black plane quickly. They firmly landed on the ground and approached the young heroes.

Black Canary and Batman approached the heroes while Superman and Green Arrow arrested Joker. They saw Raven's lithe form being cradled by Speedy who hadn't looked away from her face, not even at the hero's arrival. Batman walked towards them quickly and looked at the unconscious form of his daughter and said firmly but hurriedly a slip of worry showing through his usual stoic façade "We need to take her to the league's base for proper treatment."

Speedy reluctantly let Raven go from his hold to Batman's. Black Canary gasped a little seeing her protégé "She's losing a lot of blood…we need to take her quickly."

Superman and Green Arrow took an unconscious Joker away while Batman and Black Canary took Raven to be treated with Robin and Speedy in toe.

Batman was worried out of his mind; his little girl had gotten shot and that too by his nemesis. He carefully laid her down on the infirmary bed and took a few steps back, letting the league doctors do their work. Black Canary was inside the entire time while the dark knight stepped out to speak to Robin and Speedy.

Robin gave the mission report to batman, telling his mentor everything from them obtaining information and her getting shot. While Speedy sat just outside the room on a chair silently. His mind was plagued by his best friend's unconscious and bleeding image. And his hands were also covered in some of her blood.

"We removed the bullet and stitched up her wound but she lost a lot of blood and because of her demon DNA, she is not compatible with any of our available blood types…until she wakes up we cannot say anything." The league doctor said as he stepped outside with a sigh.

Black Canary was still inside looking worried as she sat close to the bed. Suddenly a blue glow surrounded the young sorceress's body and she began levitating over the bed while she was still unconscious. Batman saw all this and rushed inside seeing the young girl with worry written all over his face. "What is happening to her?" Speedy asked with panic in his voice from the threshold.

"I'm calling Doctor Fate, maybe he can explain to us." Batman stated firmly and went outside the medical room as Speedy and Robin went inside and sat near their friend. Speedy was fidgeting in his panic; Batman called Doctor Fate but didn't move his eyes away from his unconscious daughter.

The lord of order arrived and asked Batman what happened. The dark knight explained to him everything and showed him Raven's levitating body.

Doctor Fate went inside the medical room and approached the young empath, he touched her forehead jewel and after a couple of minutes he turned towards the other worried heroes and said "She'll be fine... Her magic is a little exhausted so it will take a couple of days for her to wake up."

"She is in a trance while her magic repairs the damaged tissues…do not under any circumstances wake her up. After she is healed completely she will wake up on her own." Doctor Fate explained further.

The heroes sighed with relief and waited with patience for the young enchantress to wake up. Getting to move Speedy was the most difficult task of all but after much coaxing and explaining he reluctantly left Raven's side with his mentor. Batman and Black Canary looked after the young empath with care.

Batman noted Speedy's reluctance for leaving the empath and felt every father's over protection over his little girl regarding boys. He decided to keep an eye on the young archer, just in case. (And maybe he would assign Richard to keep an eye on the archer.)

0O0

Age: Fourteen years old

"Are you both certain that you wish to leave?" Black Canary asked. Raven and Speedy nodded.

The two young heroes were standing in front of their mentors, Robin and a few members of the Justice league, namely Batman, Superman and Martian Manhunter. The two had their respective backpacks with them and had changed into their civilian identities. They were in Gotham city or more specifically in Bruce Wayne's mansion.

"Rachel, a word." Batman or Bruce Wayne as he was without uniform said, they all looked at him expectantly and he added "In private." With that he walked towards his study with Raven following him.

They reached his study and he closed the door and then turned to the girl and asked "Are you absolutely certain you wish to leave? If not then it is not too late to back out, you can stay here…with everyone." He said the last part almost pleading, he didn't want to see his daughter leave and he would do everything in his power to persuade her not to but he knew that the ultimate decision rested with her and he would support her no matter what.

Raven sighed and said "I had another vision…of him." The dark knight clenched his jaw; he knew who Raven was speaking about, her biological father. He tried to mask the rise of anger within him and tried to listen to her explanation, once again.

"He plans to ascend just after my 16th birthday which is in two years." Immediately worry had taken the place of anger, he looked at her with concern in his eyes and she continued "I need to do some good before _it_ happens…I have to. You and Black Canary taught me to put my powers to good use and I have to go to do that."

He pondered over it for a few minutes and then said "I understand…but if you ever need my help for anything, don't hesitate to call." She just smiled at him and then hugged him just like did when she first met him, and he smiled at her. She was the only one who could melt his tough exterior.

"Thanks dad... I will miss you" She said softly. He smiled wider; he loved it when she called him that, every time she called him that he was reminded that they were family and hugged her tighter saying "I will miss you too, Raven…Stay safe." They parted and headed back to the rest of the heroes.

Everyone turned their attention to Bruce and he said in his usual voice "They can go."

"Even you speedy?" Green Arrow asked his protégé. The red head nodded and said in a voice which only his mentor could hear "I need to do good…I have to help those who need it and I have to be with Raven as far she'll take me."

Green Arrow or Oliver Queen as he was now smiled and hugged his adoptive son and said "Take care of yourself and her too." They pulled away and Oliver whispered in his ear "Keep faith and try your best…you will get her…And do call from time to time." Roy just smiled.

Meanwhile Black Canary and Raven were having a similar kind of exchange. "Take care of yourself Raven." The blonde heroine said. Raven smiled and nodded.

"And do check in from time to time…and if you need any help don't hesitate to call me." She added and pulled Raven in for a hug.

"Thank you for everything…I will miss you." Raven said softly. Black Canary smiled and said "I will miss you too…"

They parted and walked to where the heroes were standing. Bruce said "If you ever need help don't hesitate to contact your mentors or the league. And keep your communicators on at all times. You both have been trained well and you both have showed your capabilities in the past missions. Be very careful with your identities and remember to trust your instincts."

Superman then added "And we have no doubt that you will do well out there also."

Raven and Speedy said their byes to the heroes and lastly they went to Robin, he looked a little sad at the prospect of losing his friends. Raven understood her sadness and hugged him and said "We will meet again Robin." He hugged her back tightly and said "You bet." He almost didn't want to let her go but he had to as Speedy placed a hand on his shoulder. Robin would never admit it but he was very fond of Raven, she understood me like no one else and she had been the only one who could sense and ease his troubled mind. She was the sister that he always begged to his parents for.

Speedy and Robin said their goodbye with a friendly hug and with that Raven and Speedy left the mansion. They waved back on final time before crossing the thresholds of the iron gates.

"Nervous?" Speedy asked with a smile. Raven turned to him and said "More like terrified…but I am glad you are here with me Roy." the red head smiled at her and said holding her hand "Always Rae…Always."

0O0

They travelled the globe. Solving crimes and bringing bad guys to justice. They two were given awards for cities they saved so they were mostly loaded and they got a monthly allowance from the league so money was never an issue for them.

Right now the archer and the empathy were currently battling a few thugs who were armed with guns, a cop had gotten injured. "Rae, how about Chinese?"

She disarmed the thugs with her magic while the archer shot his arrows at them to keep them grounded, she said while battling "We had that yesterday."

He thought on her words while shooting his arrows and then asked "Italian?" knowing that the enchantress loved Italian. He loved to make her happy, seeing her smile was oneof his biggest highs; there was something intoxicating about her smile. But Speedy was craving her smile more with each passing day as he could feel her tension and worry which caused her smile to appear less. He needed to ask her about that, but she always changed the topic.

They fought the thugs in no time and were heading home; they had rented an apartment for themselves. They walked back to the apartment with Italian takeout for dinner; they entered and set their food on the table. Raven took off her cloak and Speedy pulled off his mask.

Speedy or Roy took her cloak from her with a smile and checked her available skin for any injuries; this was their ritual after every fight. "You're all okay Rae."

She rolled her eyes at his protectiveness and said "Thanks Roy." He smiled charmingly and said "That's Doctor Roy to you my dear." Raven tried to smile but it didn't reach her eyes, Roy noticed this and made her sit beside him on the couch, he took one of her hands and placed it in his two large ones, marvelling at how soft they felt against his rough ones.

He sighed and said "Rae what's wrong? I know something is bothering you…please talk to me."

She thought for a moment, she couldn't hide from him much longer and besides he deserved the truth. But she feared that after knowing the truth about her destiny he might leave her and not want to be with her anymore. But regardless of that she has to tell him.

"Remember when I told you about my demon father." Raven started, Roy looked at her his hands still enveloping her small one and nodded, urging her to go on. She took a deep breath and said while looking at the carpet clad floor "But I didn't tell you the entire truth about myself. There is a prophesy about my 16th birthday…Trigon plans to use me as his portal to enter the mortal world…I am destined to bring the end of the world."

A Couple of moments passed, her words sinking into him. She freed her hand from his hold and walked away from him and said "It's okay if you don't want to be my friend anymore…I understand." She sighed dejectedly. Her words snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked up and saw a sad and unsure teenager in front of him instead of the confident girl he had grown up with.

He walked up to her and held her shoulders, looked into her eyes and said honestly "Rae I told you before and I am telling you again, no matter what I will always be there for you…you have been and always will be my best friend." Tears shone in her eyes and she wrapped her arms tightly around him buried her face in the crook of his neck. He smiled and hugged her back burying his face in her hair.

In that moment Roy knew that he loved her, he knew in that moment that he would do anything to protect her, he would go to the ends of the worlds if that would ensure her happiness. And he would do everything in his power to keep her safe. Right now he couldn't help but think about how perfectly she fit in his arms, like she was the piece he was missing and that she was the only one who could make him feel whole; he realized that no other person would affect him the way she does and he knew that he has to confess to her soon. And if he was lucky then maybe she would return his feelings.

He just hugged her tighter and whispered comforting nothings in her ears while her sobs slowly stopped.

0O0


	5. Chapter 5

_**Re-Written Version.**_

_**Assume standard disclaimer.**_

0O0O0O0

Age: Fifteen years old.

**Episode- Go**

The two young heroes had wandered into Jump city; they had heard that the crime rate of the city had been increasing. They were surveying the city on Speedy's motor cycle, his gift from green arrow for his 17th birthday.

They were looking around when Raven saw a bright green ray light pass through above them and they heard an explosion. "We have to go over there." Raven said. Speedy nodded and shouted while increasing the speed "Hold on tight."

A teenager with black spiky hair, a mask on his eyes like Speedy's wearing a colourful uniform was fighting an angry looking red headed girl, she was speaking some strange language and her eyes were glowing green. Deciding not to disrupt the fight Raven and Speedy moved the civilians to a much safer sight.

"Do you know who that is?" Raven asked telepathically. The emotions she was getting from him were familiar but she just couldn't put her finger on it.

"There is only one hero who would wear such bright and colourful clothes…it's the boy wonder." Speedy replied through their mind link, as realisation dawned over Raven and she could hear him chuckling. She suddenly felt happiness erupt in her heart; it had been too long since she had met her brother.

After moving the civilians they returned back to the fight scene where they saw a green animal knocking the red headed girl away, before she could attack Robin. After knocking her away, the animal changed into a green teenager who was looking at Robin with big shiny eyes full of awe.

They were talking so they didn't realize the bus coming their way, courtesy of the angry alien. They barely dodged it and on instinct Raven chanted her mantra and was about to steady the bus when a large man in a hooded sweatshirt came and caught the bus with unbelievable strength while he shouted "Hey! Who's messing up my neighbourhood?"

Unhelpfully the green teen came and pointed towards the alien saying "She started it."

Speedy was about to run into the fight when Raven lightly touched his hand and said "Fighting isn't the answer…I can sense her feelings, she is scared and confused."

"Then we have to tell them as well." Speedy said without questioning Raven's judgment. She noticed this and smiled, and then chanted her mantra to teleport them to the fight.

"I will not lose this fight." Robin said. As they approaching the tired alien, a black dome encased them from doing so. Robin recognized this and he turned to see Raven standing there, he smiled seeing her friend and he failed to notice the archer who was also standing there. "Fighting isn't the answer." She said in her monotone and the dome disappeared.

"Stand down." Robin ordered, immediately recognising Raven's voice. He internally smiled, he didn't know that he would get to meet his sister and his best friend in Jump City and that two after almost 3 years. "What, you thing you're our boss or somethin'?" The large man confined in the hood said. And Speedy just smirked who was standing beside Raven.

"Just, give me a chance." Robin and said and walked to the alien. He carefully opened her shackles and was saying something, when she interrupted him by catching him in a chaste kiss.

"Whoa! I did not see that coming." Speedy said when he saw the alien pushing Robin to the ground. After saying something the alien flew away leaving a stunned group of teenagers in her wake.

"That girl sure knows how to make an impression." The large man said. And Raven rolled her eyes when Beastboy, as he said he was said something unhelpful, again.

"I'm gonna track her down and make sure she is not a threat." Robin said as he started walking away.

"Are you sure you just don't want another kiss?" Robin turned at the sound and saw Speedy standing there with Raven smirking a bit while Raven just rolled her eyes.

Robin smiled and walked to his friends, he turned to Raven and said "Well you were right Rae, we meet again." Something clicked in her brain as she remembered her parting to words to him and she grinned wide and gave the masked hero a hug and said "Nice to see you Robin." "Likewise." Robin said.

They parted and Speedy also hugged Robin while chuckling "So Princess Traffic light, how have you been?"

"I've been fi- Hey! I am not a traffic light." He protested as they parted.

Speedy just laughed and said "No, not just traffic light…you are princess traffic light."

"That's rich coming from you, sunny-d." he retorted. They argued for a couple more minutes when Raven lost her patience and hit them both lightly on the head while saying "Cut it out…" Then the three turned their attention towards the man in a hood and Beastboy. They just looked at them with confusion in their eyes. They were figuring out what to do when the boy wonder stepped away.

"I now work alone." Robin said after a few more moments and started walking away, he was approached by Beastboy but the masked hero turned him down. Beastboy was approaching Raven and Speedy but they were already walking away.

They all came together when they saw a space craft hover over them, they started looking for the alien and saw her eating furiously in some store. The alien explained to them everything and then Robin heroically swooped in and said "You are not going them…not if I have anything to say about it."

Speedy chuckled and whispered in Raven's ear "That kiss really made an impact on him." Raven just giggled a bit at his words. But they all decided to help the alien whose they name they came to know was Starfire.

Raven was a little reluctant about to joining the team, the league may have accepted her but it was not necessary that these teens will also; they won't if they got to know her powers and her heritage. So when Beastboy said that her powers scared him bit, she knew that being in a team was not for her. Speedy saw her reluctance while they were running inside the spaceship and he knew that if she didn't join the team then even he wouldn't; no matter what she says.

Raven was slowly walking behind them, her mind was plagued by her insecurities when the half robotic teen, Cyborg approached her and asked "Come on, what are you waiting for?"

"I don't exactly fit in." she confided in him, for some reason she could feel like she could trust him and felt his warm aura which was like a that of a big brother.

"He's green, half of me is metal and she is from space…you fit in just fine." He said warmly as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She gave him one her very rare smiles and walked towards the rest of the team.

They fought the invading aliens as a team. They fought off the gordonians and decided to form a crime fighting team called Teen Titans in Jump city. They were currently standing on a beach when Cyborg said "Somebody ought to build a house here." And the green teenager said "Yeah, if you like sunshine and the beach."

Speedy flinched a little when Raven softly laughed at his joke and said "You know you are kinda funny." He looked at the changeling and he could see the stars in his eyes which directed towards the sorceress.

A little bit of jealousy erupted in the bottom of his heart but it lessened when Raven stepped right next to him and hooked her little finger with his. He just smiled at her gesture and looked at the beautiful sunrise, looking forward to the next adventure.

He knew everything would be good, as long as he had Raven on his side. Yeah, life would be good.

0O0

**Episode- Nevermore**

"You cannot outshine the brilliance of Dr. Light." A new villain in jump city called Dr. Light exclaimed. With that Robin and Speedy attacked him but they were blasted by a light ray, slowly he took down Starfire, Beastboy and Cyborg also.

"Now if nobody minds, I will be taking the gold." He said to the stuck Cyborg. Dr. Light was walking away when a monotone said from behind him "I mind."

With that Raven tried to aim her dark powers towards the villain with her chant 'Azarath Metrion Zinthos'. But the villain was too quick he blasted her couple of times with his light rays and when she was fallen, he approached her and said aiming his ray at her "What's the matter, afraid of the light."

Raven turned around and got up, her eyes red and her dark tentacles grabbed the villain while she said in a demonic voice "What's the matter, afraid of the dark." She grabbed him and her powers consumed him.

"Raven!" Speedy's voice brought her back and she shrunk to her normal size, with her eyes also back to amethyst. The villain was shivering in fear, the team approached her and she could feel their fear.

She looked at speedy, he was overflowing with concern. Without saying anything she disappeared in the alley.

Wordlessly Speedy also followed her, leaving the team in confusion. Speedy entered the tower and walked to the empath's room. He knocked at her door and said softly, his aurs overflowing with concern "Rae, it's me. Open up."

After a couple of moments the door magically opened up, he walked inside and saw the empath levitation on her bed in lotus position. He sat on the bed and said looking at her "What happened Rae?"

She sighed and floated down on the bed, sitting right beside him. She wrapped her arms around herself and said "My father is trying to influence me…trying to get me to give in to my demonic heritage.

…What if he succeeds and I lose control like a did today?"

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, trying to comfort her and said "You are one of the strongest people I know, Raven…you will get through this and I will be there right beside you, every step of the way."

She pulled away and looked at him, he just smiled warmly, reassuring her silently. She bolted and hugged him tightly and said in his ear "Thanks Roy…I needed this."

He wrapped his arms around her and patted her back soothingly, loving the feel of her in his arms. "Come on let's play chess, we haven't played in forever…unless you are afraid that you won't be able to beat me." He said pulling away.

"It's not me who should be afraid, we have been playing since we were nine, and you only won once."

"Come on I feel lucky today." He smiled and got up, heading over her chess board. "Is that so? We'll see." She smirked and followed him.

After a couple of times loosing, Speedy wished her goodnight and left for his room. On the way he saw Robin who asked him "How's Raven?"

"She is fine now." He replied with a smile and yawned, "So you were with her the entire time?" their leader asked.

"Umm yeah…G'night Rob, see you in the morning." He said walking away.

Robin just stood there and contemplated on how to process this information, he knew his sister and the archer were close but this type of closeness he did not suspect. He resolved to keep a close eye on the red head and headed to his room.

0O0

**Episode- Deep Six**

A ship had been attacked by a Meta human, and a lot of other crimes were being conducted by a water creature. The waters were no longer safe. And the teen titan's had to intervene.

They team was currently in the T- submarine, Speedy was grumbling a bit when he saw the whale form of Beastboy wink at Raven. Speedy did not appreciate it as the changeling got a lot of the empath's sarcastic attention and he always tried to make her laugh on his jokes.

They were sinking; the water pressure was breaking the glass. Until two whales steadied the submarine and led them to a cave.

They stepped out of their ruined ship and looked around the beautiful cave. Cyborg was looking at his broken ship with sad eyes and was whining while Starfire looked at the cave and said "Beautiful."

Ever since the girls had their body switch a few days ago, they had become close friends as they had opened up about their pasts. Raven had told her about the Justice League and how she met Speedy and Robin. Starfire had enquired about Robin and Raven was happy to say that she wasn't interested in him which made the alien quite happy. The alien had further enquired about the empath's feelings for the archer; apparently their closeness and chemistry was seen and noticed by everyone. To the enquiry Raven had just blushed and changed the topic to the alien's feelings for their leader.

They went to the mall together and sometimes meditated together.

"Where are we?" Raven asked. Speedy was standing on her left side with Robin not too far away from them.

After a couple of minutes the empath's question was answered by a smooth masculine voice that said "My place." They all turned to look at the source of the voice.

A tall man in a blue and black unitard emerged, he had shoulder length black hair and was incredibly handsome, and he jumped and landed on the rocky surface and said "I asked the whales to bring you here."

Raven blushed at the sight of the handsome man and said "Uhh…thanks." Speedy tried to suppress a burst of jealousy but failed when he saw her blush at the sight of this new guy. He narrowed his eyes at the new man and clenched his fists.

He narrowed his eyes further and studies the man further trying to see what he had that made Raven act this way towards him.

"…we Atlanteans try to keep a low profile." By this time little hearts were glowing instead of her irises, and the dark beauty seemed interested in him a lot. Speedy tried to calm down but it didn't help when he saw her make love struck eyes at Aqualad, as he introduced himself.

Speedy tried to force politeness when interacting with the new hero. But he failed when he saw her sneak a glance at Raven in between. He just hoped that this mission would be over soon so that they won't have to interact with him again and so that he could keep the girl he loved away from potential competition.

But all his hopes went down the drain when Robin gave him a titan communicator, now Aqualad was an honorary titan. They would be seeing him more and probably often also.

"Bye Raven, Starfire." Aqualad said with a smile. His eyes lingering on Raven more than necessary. Speedy growled a little.

After the mission, they headed inside the tower and Raven noticed Speedy sulking in his room. She sat beside him on his bed and said softly "So what's wrong Roy?"

He grumbled and said not looking at her "Nothing."

She nudged him playfully and said "Come on you can tell me." He sighed and she picked up on his feeling through her empathy.

"If you won't tell me….you know what I will do." Raven said raising her fingers towards his face and he started backing away slowly, this habit of hers to pinch his nose when she didn't get her way with him annoyed him to no end.

She just smiled inwardly when he gave in and set her hand on his shoulder "Are you jealous?" Speedy just grumbled and said "Stupid unitard guy." Raven just laughed softly and said "You shouldn't be jealous; you have something that he doesn't."

He turned to her, his eyes held a question. She just smiled and said playfully "A mask" He rolled his eyes but his lips twitched up a little. Raven smiled wider and said "No one can take your place Roy; you will always be my best friend…my closest companion."

Speedy grinned charmingly, his eyes held joy as he wrapped the empath in a hug and buried his head in the crook of her neck, engraving her scent of lavender in his memory. He knew that he had to tell her soon but he always faltered at the last moment. He will tell her and that to soon; and if he was lucky then she would reciprocate his feelings.

0O0

"…the team is getting along together perfectly. Rae and I have also fitted well with the others. Robin is a great leader." Speedy said talking to his mentor, Green Arrow on his communicator.

"That's great to know, Black Canary will be pleased to know also…so what's happening with you and Raven?" came a voice from the small communicator.

Speedy blushed a little and said "We have become closer…but I haven't been able to confess yet."

"Why not?" asked his mentor. "She is really stressed right now, her powers are on the edge a little bit as she is worried about her father, he is trying to contact her more often." He said with a sigh.

Green Arrow paused for a bit and then advised "Just support her Roy and you will know when the time is right to confess. You can't plan these things, it has to come naturally."

Speedy just smiled and thanked his mentor, and then smirked and asked "So how did you confess to Black Canary?" this time it was the older hero's chance to blush a little.

After his conversation with his mentor, Speedy just smiled and headed to the common room to play video games with Beastboy and Cyborg while Raven read her book on the couch and Starfire flirted with Robin while making some alien concoction.

Yes they were fitting in with the others perfectly.

0O0

**_I have decided to keep Speedy with the original team only, but the Titans East will also come in later and I have a different story planned for those episodes. _**

**_And I have decided that Robin will not be a potential love interest for Raven, in this edited version I have decided to give them a brother- sister bond . _**

**_And I like the thought of the protégé's having a good and healthy relationship with their mentors._**

**_Thankyou. _**


	6. Chapter 6

**_RE-WRITTEN VERSION_**

**_ASSUME STANDARD DISCLAIMER_**

**Episode- Fear itself**

The team was fighting a new villain called Control Freak. He was arguing about some character with the sales girl in the video rental store. The fight was easy; they won easily without hurting themselves much.

At the end Beastboy suggested a movie night and rented some horror movie from the scared sales girl.

They were waiting for Robin to come before commencing in their movie night. Soon their fearless leader also joined them, he saw the masked archer speaking to the empath with a flirtatious but charming grin on his face and that irked him.

Cyborg and Starfire were sitting at one end of the huge couch with Raven and Speedy sitting just a little further away from them. Raven had a book in her hand but Speedy was making sure that she wouldn't open it. And Beastboy was going on about the movie.

It was not hidden from anyone that Speedy was the closest to Raven; they had become friends when they were seven years old, they had grown up together and anyone could see that there was something between them. They smiled and were more comfortable when in the company of each other.

As time turned their bonds with the team had also strengthened, Raven and Starfire went to the mall together and meditated together, ever since the dark beauty helped Cyborg with his precious t-car, Cyborg had come to think of Raven as a little sister. Speedy had boys time with Cyborg, Beastboy and Robin; he played video games with them, they sparred with each other and they all were good friends.

Robin had been very fond of the empath since they had met all those years ago. He found a connection with her; she understood him and did not judge him. She was the sister he always begged to his parents for. And when she had left he had missed her terribly, he had waited for the day their paths would cross again and it happened that fateful day.

One thing he had not considered was that Speedy would be with her; Robin had thought that the archer and the dark beauty would have gone their own ways but that was not so; their paths were one. He had to deal with it but that doesn't mean he had to like it, it would be an understatement to say that he was protective over the empath, after knowing about Raven's destiny, he with his father (and the league) had become very protective of the girl and not to mention Batman had instilled in him to always protect Raven like an older brother should and to watch out for boys.

Robin saw his childhood friends sitting closely; he jumped on the couch from behind and sat beside Raven, putting his hand on the back of the couch, behind Raven. Now he was sandwiched between Starfire and Raven, Speedy just raised an eyebrow at this action but didn't say anything.

"Ladies and Gentlemen get ready for the scariest night of your life." Beastboy said his eye twitching a bit.

Speedy just rolled his eyes a bit and got himself nachos with salsa. He sat beside Raven and said to Beastboy who was trying to scare everyone "Just start the movie."

Beastboy grumbled a bit and then put the movie and sat beside the metallic man.

The movie was scary; everyone had their jaws open in horror. Starfire was hiding behind Robin's cape while Speedy was clutching Raven's hand tightly; trying to assure the empath and himself also that this wasn't real.

Another scream came and Raven jumped in her seat and sat closer towards Speedy. Soon the movie ended and the lights opened Robin glanced at his teammates, they were sharing their views on the horrific movie.

"That was the scariest movie ever." Speedy exclaimed. They all laughed and Beastboy moved towards Raven and said "That movie totally scared you, right?"

Raven gave a deadpan "I don't do fear." Only Robin noticed that Raven was sitting closer to Speedy with his hand holding hers firmly, his protectiveness surfacing. Speedy noticed their leader's stare but didn't say anything. After a while he realized that Robin was staring at Raven and his interlocked hands, confusion arose in his mind but he didn't say anything. His concern was Raven right now; she was scared but refused to acknowledge it.

Speedy looked at her and saw her powers edging, her emotions were a little out of control. He knew he had to do something and he smiled when a plan formed in his mind.

It was raining and thunder was echoing in the silent hallways of the tower. Raven was unable to sleep, the horrific images of the movie still playing in her head. She was tossing and turning when she decided to get up.

She walked up to her door and was about to open it when a knock echoed through her room. She opened the door and was met with the beautiful emerald eyes of Speedy.

His hair was dishevelled and he was wearing his red pyjamas with little bows and arrows made on it and had his domino mask in his hand. He looked at Raven and said "Couldn't sleep?"

She nodded, inviting the boy inside. He turned towards her once the door closed and said "I know you don't do fear but I am a little terrified right now. Do you mind if I stay here for a while…we can talk or binge watch bad movies on Netflix?"

"Sure, why not…" he smiled and got inside her sheets. She got her laptop and got inside the sheets also.

They spent the night talking, laughing and watching idiotically bad movies; their presence easing their fears. Slowly her eye lids got a little droopy, she looked at the red head and said "Thanks Roy, I needed this…I was a little scared."

Speedy turned to her and smiled, he put the laptop aside and said to her while holding her hand "I will be here for you Rae, no matter what."

He on impulse kissed Raven's forehead and said "G'night…please wake me up if you need anything." And he left; the empath felt a warm glow in her heart when he kissed her forehead. She knew that no other being on this planet would sing to her heart as he does. As she lay back on the bed she caught Roy's scent on one the pillows which lingered after his departure, the words strength and masculinity popping in her mind when she thought of how to describe the scent which was distinctively Roy.

She slept deeply thinking about the suave archer and how vital he was to her.

0O0

**Episode- Date with Destiny**

Robin had to go on a date with Killer Moth's daughter, Kitten. Starfire was distraught and Speedy, well he couldn't stop laughing.

The archer was glad that he was not requested or blackmailed to take that blonde nightmare to prom and the fact that Robin had to was just icing on cake. He was also a little sad for Starfire; she had been moping around with a cloud hanging over her head since Robin had reluctantly accepted.

Everyone except the boy wonder knew about the alien's obvious affections for him, she made so many advances at him but he never seemed to bother with them. For being the protégé of the world's greatest detective he was quite oblivious; currently he, Raven, Cyborg and Beastboy were trying to find Killer Moth.

They were in Kitten's house when Robin called on Cyborg's communicator and said in desperation "Please tell me you have found Killer Moth."

Speedy just chuckled from behind and approached Cyborg and said to Robin via the communicator "Not yet, but we have found your girlfriend's home address."

Robin's eye twitched and he was almost ready to pounce at Speedy from communicator "She is not my-"

He was interrupted by a shriek from Beastboy; he had accidentally opened a hidden door. Raven looked at the newly found staircase and deadpanned "Well, that's not suspicious."

They entered the secret room and Speedy opened the light and they were met with thousands of Killer Moth's bugs held in glass containers. They immediately called Robin.

They were interrogating Killer Moth but no avail.

Somehow the bugs had gotten loose; the team had only one choice. They had to stop them from leaving the secret room. Beastboy shape shifted and blocked one exit, Raven used her magic and placed rocks in a few vents, and Speedy shot his ice arrow and blocked one door while Cyborg threw tables or whatever he could find to seal the last remaining exit.

The team was trapped in a room full of Killer bugs; Cyborg used his metallic arm to save his head, on instinct Speedy pulled Raven to the protective shelter of his body and raven created a shield over them. After a couple of moments the deadly bugs turned into huge worms which seemed to be less harmful.

Beastboy dropped Raven's cape, apparently using it to save himself. Speedy still had Raven crushed against him. Cyborg gave out a fake cough and they pulled away blushing.

Later they arrived at the venue of the Prom, Starfire and Robin were dancing. Cyborg and Beastboy were talking about the huge worm, which Beastboy thought was cute. While Speedy and Raven were leaning across the railing and enjoying the beautiful night.

Speedy looked at Raven and his breath caught in his chest, her eyes were closed as if savouring the comfort of the night. Light winds ruffled her short hair making her look like a goddess. He nudged her a little and she opened her eyes to look at the archer smiling.

She looked at him with question in her eyes, he offered her his hand and said "Dance with me."

She shook her head saying "I don't know how to dance."

"Come on Rae, it will be fun… And besides when you have the right person in your arms, nothing can go wrong." He said giving her his best puppy dog expression, the one he knew she couldn't resist. She tried to act like it didn't affect her but she gave in to him with a sigh. Even after almost eight years of knowing him she wasn't immune to his puppy dog eyes.

She placed her hand in his and said "Fine."

The archer grinned triumphantly and hooked her elbow in his and started leading her to the dance floor. He bowed to her formally before pulling her close to him and start dancing to the music.

She looked at him and saw his beautiful smile, the one which she had come to adore after all the years of knowing him.

Her hands were wrapped around his broad, muscular shoulders and she placed her head on his collar bone and said "You are good."

He chuckled a bit and said "I try…and I just want to tell you that there is no one else I would dance with than you."

She smiled and looked up at him, her hood had already fell down and said "Me too Speedy…me too." They danced for a while when she noticed a bleeding cut on his neck, she touched it lightly and said worried "You're bleeding."

"What?" he asked not stopping their dance. Raven touched the wound lightly and he flinched, feeling the pain suddenly. "That wound."

He shrugged and said "It's no big deal…just a little cut." Not listening to him, Raven summoned her magic and a blue glow covered her hand which was hovering over his wound. It slowly healed and Raven said looking up at him "There, all better."

"Thanks Rae." He said and kissed her temple lightly.

Beastboy and Cyborg looked at the dancing couples with a smile in their faces. All of them had a good time and a few stares noticed the closeness between Speedy and Raven which was not entirely out of friendship.

0O0

**Episode- Winner take all**

The team was playing a game of fish. Slowly Raven, Beastboy, Starfire and Cyborg folded.

"Sorry guys, I guess I am just invincible." Robin remarked smugly and reached over to the cards when he felt another hand on his, stopping his movement.

"How can you be invincible if I still have one card left…come on you know you want to play me for it." Speedy said smugly and Robin growled a bit.

Last round was going on, Robin threw his greatest card but he was bested by Speedy who had the wild card, which won over every other card.

"Who is invincible now…I win." Speedy said with a cocky triumphant grin on his face. Robin was seething in front of him, who knew the boy wonder was a sore loser.

"I want a rematch." Robin said, Speedy grinned and replied "Fine by me."

Robin turned green with jealousy when he saw his friendly rival approach Raven and talk to her much with a charming grin.

Suddenly something zapped and all the boys vanished from the room. The girls looked at each other in confusion, unsure of what they should do.

The boys were zapped into a room full of other super powered teens. They looked around and heard a voice boom "Welcome champions…I am the master of the game." They looked at the source of the voice and saw a Meta human wearing a red stone around his neck.

"You are hereby invited to compete in the…tournament of heroes." He said. The master of the game introduced the champions and the game to them.

"…The winner shall prove that he is the greatest hero on earth." He concluded and all the teens agreed to play.

With that the game master zapped away, the heroes and one villain, Gizmo talked to each other before the games.

Speedy and Robin were circling each other, studying each other closely. "So who are you playing for Rob?" the agile archer asked.

"I am playing to win Speedy." Their fearless leader stated firmly. "Are you sure, everyone needs some motivation to win…maybe Starfire." He asked with a teasing grin.

Robin huffed, a little red on the cheeks and asked "If that is then who are you playing for?" Speedy grinned and crossed his arms above his chest and said "Isn't it obvious…come on for being such a self-proclaimed great detective don't tell me you can't figure this out."

Before Robin could growl something in anger the game master zapped them into the game. Cyborg was opposing Gizmo, Beastboy was Wildebeest, Robin was against Hotspot and Speedy was against Aqualad.

Speedy was having too much fun fighting with Aqualad. In a way he was taking all the anger had on the Atlantean. It was just plain and simple jealousy, he had seen the telepath flirt with the girl of his dreams and she had blushed and drooled because of the Atlantean also.

He was laughing like crazy also when his arrow hit Aqualad under water; tears were flowing out of his eyes because of his cocky laughter. But soon the water levels rose and Aqualad also rose with the water and punched Speedy right across his face.

They were fighting when Aqualad was pulling Speedy in the water. Speedy reached into his quiver and took out an arrow and touched the water from which Aqualad had risen. The arrow froze the water and the Atlantean with it, making Speedy the winner.

The winners again were zapped and transported to the room. Robin grumbled looking at the archer's cocky grin. He hated that Speedy could express his feelings so openly while he was trained to hide his emotions.

The next day three champions were fighting, Speedy, Robin and Wildebeest. Cyborg had been sent away. Robin and Speedy soon defeated Wildebeest, then their fight remained with each other.

The rocks had collapsed; Robin and Speedy were falling with huge boulder. The archer aimed his one special arrow at a rock to reveal a rope which he used to pull himself up to stand on a boulder. Robin was jumping over the rocks trying to reach the red head.

Speedy pulled back and aimed his arrow at him, making the bat sidekick to fall. Robin on instinct shot his grappling hook and it attached to Speedy's hand. Pulling the archer down with him. The fight resumed in air, while they were falling.

They were combating in air when they reached a surface. Speedy aimed his arrow at Robin and shot, but Robin blocked it with his staff. They were blocking each other off with their weapons when Speedy gave his cocky grin and said "Playing for no one huh."

"I am playing to win." Robin seethed. "Come on Rob, just admit it." Speedy said trying to free his bow from being interlocked with Robin's staff.

Robin growled and pulled his staff back, jumping away from the archer in the process. They fought for a long time; the end of the match didn't seem to near. Out of breath and still fighting the two masked heroes were zapped and were back in audience with the game master.

They met the game master and saw that their friends were trapped in his stone and he had seemed to possess all their powers. Robin and Speedy nodded at each other and they began to attack the game master, he was using all the powers he had acquired from the fallen heroes.

Robin kicked him in the chest while Speedy occupied him by his arrows. With the first kick at the red gem, Cyborg emerged. "Aim at that gem." Robin told Speedy, the archer nodded. The three heroes started fighting in their team formation, Speedy aimed his arrow at the gem, his eyes widened when he got a clear shot and he let the arrow loose.

Robin jumped and drove that arrow further in the gem with a kick. After a long sounding zap all the fallen heroes emerged.

Speedy approached Robin and said "Sorry I acted like a jerk." Robin shook hands with him and smiled "We both did." They all were zapped to the tower. Starfire floated to Robin while Speedy walked up to Raven, she was standing by the windows. She smiled when she saw his reflection.

He grinned charmingly at her and said "Miss me?" she just gave him one her precious smiles and said "Nope…not at all." He just chuckled and placed a hand on his heart in mock hurt while exclaiming "You wound me, my love."

She laughed at him and slapped his shoulder playfully. He grinned and gave her a one armed hug. She just sighed and placed her head on his shoulder. Their friends looked at them with awe in their expression, except Robin who was a cautious but happy to see his sister happy.

0O0

**Episode- Haunted**

It all started with Robin's obsessive nature, if had just slept like a normal human does at night then probably this could have been avoided.

Right now he was hallucinating that Slade was back and by fighting his imaginary nemesis he had harmed himself. He was right now in the titan's infirmary. Everyone was slowly waiting for him to wake up; Starfire was the most anxious one.

Robin had gone missing; he had freed himself from the restraints and had run off to chase Slade while locking the other titans in. Starfire and Cyborg were trying to break the iron enforced walls but it was of no avail, Beastboy couldn't get out, no matter what he shape shifts into. Speedy had tried his energy arrows but they didn't help.

Lastly Raven sat in her meditative position and levitated in air; Beastboy looked at her and asked "What are you doing?"

"Trying to locate Robin." She said in her monotone. With that Speedy approached Raven and she turned to look at him and said "Be my anchor?"

He knew what she was talking about, Raven was going to let her soul self out of her body and to get it back she will need an anchor, someone who will keep her to reality "Always." He smiled.

She smiled for a moment and then chanted, her eyes became white as her soul self-went to search for Robin in the shape of a black Raven.

Raven entered Robin's mind with his permission, seeing everything and ultimately creating a bond between them. Raven showed Robin that there was nothing there but suddenly Slade appeared and punched him hard.

With that Raven's real body also faced the impact and she fell back but luckily Speedy was there to catch her. She told everyone who had gathered around her what she saw and what was happening with their leader.

They all ran to him and ultimately saved him from himself. Cyborg carried Robin back to the infirmary and tended to his wounds. Robin smiled when Raven told him about the new bond between them.

"We have a literal bond now…huh Rae." He said jokingly. "Yeah we do." She replied with a smile while she healed his wounds with her magic. After his wounds were healed he got up and gave Raven a hug.

He pulled back and said "Thanks for everything Raven."

0O0

"Friend Raven, may I come in?" Starfire asked while knocking on Raven's door. After a couple of moments the door swished open and the alien stepped inside. She saw Raven levitating in lotus position while chanting her mantra.

Ever since their body switch, Starfire was one of the very few people allowed in Raven's room. Raven opened her eyes and floated down into a standing position, she looked at the alien and asked "Yes?"

"May I have the girl talk with you?" she asked. Raven sat on her bed and patted the space next to her. Starfire smiled and floated next to Raven and sat. "Friend do you have the feelings for friend Speedy?"

Raven blushed and after a few minutes said "I have known him since I was seven years old, he was my first friend. We grew up together and when I decided to leave he was by my side. When I told him about my powers and how dangerous they can be, he just hugged me and said that we will face everything together…I can't imagine life with him….so yes, Starfire I do have feelings for him."

Starfire squealed in happiness and floated and said "Then why don't you tell him…I am sure he returns your feelings."

Raven frowned and turned away from the alien and said "I can't Star, something is suppose to happen next year and if I tell him…I can't hurt him like that."

Starfire walked up to her friend and placed her hand on the empath's shoulder and asked "Friend what is going to happen which is preventing you to confess your feelings to friend Speedy?"

She turned and said in her monotone "I'll tell you when the time comes." When she saw that Starfire was about to object Raven added "Please trust me on this Star, I can't tell you just yet."

Starfire thought over it for a couple of minutes and then nodded

0O0


	7. Chapter 7

**_RE-WRITTEN VERSION_**

**_ASSUME STANDARD DISCLAIMER_**

**Episode- Spellbound**

Cyborg and Beastboy were trying to coax Raven out of her room and trying to get her to play Stankball with them but Raven was too invested in the book she was reading. The story about the dragon and the wizard had taken all of her attention and she couldn't bring upon herself to leave it.

She was trying to ignore them when she heard the green changeling say "Why do you have to be so creepy all the time?"

"Let her be." Came Cyborg's reply. And the two left her. Raven clutched the book tightly in her hands, Beastboy's words obviously bothering her.

She suddenly lost interest in the book and placed it on the bed; she got up and walked around her dark room. She thought about her teammates and how she was so different from them. Even Speedy was cheerful and easy to get along with, but she was different and dark. She couldn't show emotions freely and her friends would never know that she does this to protect them.

She would usually confide in the archer about her feelings but lately he had been hanging out with the Amazonian princess, Donna more. Every day she saw less of him and it seemed like he was also pulling away from her. Raven with a heavy heart sat next to her book on her bed, she sighed and thought that maybe it was for the best if he found companionship in someone else because in less than a year her father would use her as a portal.

Her friends whom she had gotten so attached to would probably die because of her. It's maybe in their best interest if she started distancing herself from them, so that they don't feel her loss.

She laughed dryly at the last part, like they would miss her. Starfire had Robin, Cyborg and Beastboy were best friends; and her best friend was now pulling away from her and towards another. She was and would be alone. She looked at the book beside her and said "I wish there was someone who would understand."

She picked her book up, and opened the page she was reading. Hoping to distract herself when she was interrupted by a knock on her door, groaning Raven placed her book back and opened the door. Only to find a cheerful Starfire with a weird hairstyle, she chirped "Friend do you wish to try the braiding styles on our hair…we can even go to the mall of shopping and maybe have the girl talk."

Raven looked away and said "No, Starfire…but maybe you can go out with Donna. She is better company than me after all." She said the last part bitterly and shut the door without waiting for the reply or even looking at her friend's confused expression.

Raven headed back over to her bed and opened the book when a voice killed the silence of the room "Books are better listeners than humans." Raven dropped the book in surprise and the pages fluttered to a pair of icy blue eyes with long eyes lashes. Raven took cautious steps and asked "Who are you?"

"I'm Malchior." Came the reply in a rich English and elegant voice.

Meanwhile Starfire was walking to the Ops room with a fallen face, her best friend's words still echoing in her head while she tried to understand what troubled the empath so much. But she got her answer as she saw Speedy talking to Donna in the Ops room. The Amazonian had become a frequent visitor in the tower, Starfire realized looking at them the reason for Raven's sadness.

Raven had trusted Starfire with her feelings for the suave archer and now seeing him with another heroine must have saddened her deeply.

The alien waited for the Amazonian's departure and when the team excluding Raven were sitting in the common room she said "Friends have you spoken to friend Raven today?"

They boys thought back for a moment and they all shook their heads in a 'No'. Starfire sighed and didn't say anything further, earthly boys were really stupid and oblivious to feelings be it their own or someone else's.

"Why?" "Is she okay?" asked Speedy and Robin at the same moment. Starfire turned towards their leader and said "Nothing friend Robin." And with that she left without answering the archer's question.

Starfire decided to speak to Raven and maybe try to lift her spirits, she neared the empath's door and was about to knock when she heard one of Raven's very rare laughs, and she heard a male's voice also emitting from her room.

The alien floated in joy, now confirming that her friend was not sad. She decided not to intrude and left happily. On the way she saw Robin also approaching Raven's door.

"Friend Robin, friend Raven is the busy right now…she has someone in her room and I believe it's a boy. Please don't do the interrupting of them." She chirped.

Robin's ears turned a little red and he was about to ask some more questions when he noticed that Starfire had flown away, his protectiveness over her surfacing. He wanted to march up to Raven's room and get some answers but he knew that his sister would not appreciate so much intrusion in her life, and he trusted her to talk to him when she was ready.

Unknown to him, Speedy had heard everything and he was filled with anger and jealousy. He marched up to Raven's room and knocked furiously.

"Maybe if we stay quiet then they will go away." The archer heard someone say from Raven's room, and no doubt it was a boy. He also heard Raven laughing and his jealousy intensified.

"Raven…it's me. Open up." He said knocking again. Raven opened the door and stepped out, shutting the door behind her. While Speedy tried to peep inside her room and see who was with her but his efforts were in vain.

"What do you want?" she said in her monotone. He looked back at her and hissed "Who is that inside your room?"

She looked at him and said "Just someone who listens." She turned to step back in her room without waiting for a reply but Speedy wasn't having it, he grabbed her arm and turned her around to face him and seethed "Wasn't I enough?"

She looked up and said with anger and a little bit of sadness "You are never around anymore…this is the most I have seen you since Do-"

She stopped and pulled her hand from his grasp and turned not looking at the archer again as she stepped in the sanctuary of her room and shut the door behind her leaving a shocked hero in the dimly lit hallway.

He saw the sadness in her eyes which she had tried to mask under anger but after all these years of being such close friends he was very learned in the art of reading the empath_. Is she right? Have I been pulling away from her so much that she had to find someone else to confide in_? Many questions plagued his mind and he racked his brain to find the answers. But he couldn't find anything that might have disturbed his friend so much, he was just trying to make friends with other heroes and he hoped that she would too.

The next morning, Speedy was having breakfast with his teammates and waiting for Donna to come to the tower, apparently she had some things to talk about with their fearless leader. The archer was still trying to find answers about what made the empath pull away from him when the doors swished open.

His jaw suddenly felt a little loose as he saw Raven enter in her white leotard and white cloak and with a huge smile on her face. She was in a very giddy mood as she grabbed an apple and took a bite of it.

"Good morning Rae." Cyborg greeted hesitantly and got a Raven smile in return. Raven happily interacted with their teammates while Speedy just stared at her, not listening to their conversation.

Yesterday she looked so sad and dejected but today she was showering everyone with her very rare smiles and was even laughing at Beastboy's tactics. A black feeling blossomed in his heart as he saw her talk about her new friend with a smile which was often directed towards him and him only.

"So when will we meet your friend?" Robin asked in a firm tone, pulling Speedy away from his thoughts.

Before she could reply, the doors opened and Donna stepped in. Speedy saw Raven flinch and saw her happiness leaving her face, sadness staying in its wake. But it was only momentarily as she regained her stoic demeanour and politely excused herself to her room, without looking or talking to the archer once.

Donna and Robin left, attending to their work and Speedy saw Starfire leaving the room. He decided that if he was going to get answers then it would probably be from the alien. He approached her in the hall and asked "Star can I ask you something?"

"Sure friend, how may I assist you?" she chirped. He sighed "Why is Raven angry with me? Why did she feel the need to confide in someone else when I am here for her?"

Starfire stopped floating and walked towards him and said with a voice losing its usual cheerfulness "…you are the one constant in friend Raven's life, from what she told me you both developed friendship when you both were mere toddlers. And now you have been leaving her alone for a new friend Donna."

Speedy looked like he was about to protest when Starfire added "Please friend just do the questioning of yourself…when did you speak to her properly last?"

And with that the alien left the archer to ponder on her words.

He thought back and realized that he had been neglecting Raven ever since Donna came in their lives. He mentally kicked himself, he claimed to be in love with the empath and to being her best friend but now she thought that he didn't want her anymore or that her place in his life was being given to someone else.

She had felt the need to confide in someone and he wasn't there, so she went to someone else.

He had to get her back, reassure her that she was irreplaceable in his life and that he would always be her best friend and he would always be there when she needed someone to rely upon.

He was about to approach Raven but that stupid alarm rang again, he grumbled but ran to the Ops room.

After the fight Raven was quite angry and disturbed, she went inside her room to talk to Malchior, he had told her that the spell to free him would work only if the one who performs it has any feeling for him. Before he could have gotten an answer Raven had to go.

"I'm sorry but I…I don't have feelings for you." She confessed and turned away from him. He just got angry and held her hand tightly and siphoned a bit of her magic, showing her his true dragon eyes. But then Raven jerked her arm away and used the spells he taught her to defeat him before he could take his form. It all happened so fast that she didn't even have the time to breathe.

She turned and saw her friends who had seen everything, embarrassed and not being able to meet their stares she closed the door with her magic.

Raven sighed and touched the book which had fallen on the ground.

She picked it up and placed it inside a wooden chest in her room. Her clothes changed back to dark blue, she sighed and sat on the edge of her bed.

She felt quite uneasy and was thinking about the wizard when a knock interrupted her thoughts and the cause of her disturbance said "Hey Raven…I am sorry that I called you creepy but I just wanted to tell you that you are never alone."

She looked up and walked towards the closed door, Beastboy's words were sincere and she could feel his honesty. She just opened the door and came in face with the green changeling. Without thinking she just bolted and hugged him, he was surprised but he masked it well as he gingerly hugged her back.

"Group hug!" Cyborg exclaimed before hugging the empath and the changeling, soon Raven heard Starfire's giggles and felt a tight hold on her as well. From behind Speedy came and hugged the beautiful empath in a gentle but loving hold, she could distinguish his hugs from others. Lastly she saw over Beastboy's shoulder and saw their masked leader approaching and hugging them.

Raven felt a little uncomfortable by the hugs and their earnest emotions and she felt a bit over whelmed as well.

"Okay guys, you all are touching me." Raven said. "Well, we just want to show you that you are irreplaceable in our lives and this team, and are very important to us." Chuckled Robin but she could feel his sincerity.

They all nodded in agreement with him but soon pulled back. They all just smiled at her and soon went to their respective rooms to rest after a tiring day. All but one masked archer. He said softly "Can we talk?"

Raven sighed and stepped towards her room and said with her finger on the scanner "I am tired Speedy…maybe later?" the door opened.

Speedy sighed, she was purposely being difficult. "Come on it's important Rae."

She finally turned to look at him "What is it which can't wait till tomorrow?"

He pulled her in the sanctuary of her room and let the door shut behind them, before she could yell at him, he bolted and crushed her to his chest and buried his face in her hair. "I am sorry Rae…I am so sorry."

"For what?" she asked softly while pressing her hands on his chest to push him away but he didn't loosen his grip on her.

"For making you confide in someone who wasn't me…I wasn't there when you needed me." He said.

"No, don't apologize for this. You have a life outside of me and I can't fault you for making another friend, better friend than me."

He pulled back but didn't let her out of his hold, he took off his mask and said softly "Nobody is better for me that you…you will always be my best friend, my closest companion. Nobody can take your place in my life."

She smiled and hugged him and whispered "Thank you Roy." He just grinned and hugged her tighter to him and smiled wider when she playfully pinched his nose; and talked though the night, when the archer asked what happened with Malchior, Raven told him that Malchior was just using her to free himself from the book and she knew this so she was prepared to face him when the time came.

Needless to say he was enraged and it took a lot of restraining by Raven so that the suave archer wouldn't burn or tear the book apart.

0O0

The next morning Raven woke up to a series of knocks on her door, she lazily ran her hand through her hair and opened the door with her magic. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, she opened her eyes and was met with the smiling face of Speedy.

Speedy smiled at seeing her like this, with her bed head and her in her black and dark blue pyjamas. This was a rare sight and he smiled because nobody but him got to see her like this.

Oh no, if he was awake before her then she probably would have slept till very late. Before she could fully open her eyes the smell of grilled cheese, her tea and hot chocolate assaulted her senses, she opened her eyes and saw him standing with a tray in his hands.

"Good morning Rae, I made you breakfast today…it's your favourite." He smiled and set the tray on her bed before plopping pillows behind her and then placing the tray in front of her.

"You woke up early, to make breakfast…for me" she said in awe as she looked at the clock flashing the time. It was quite early.

He smiled warmly at her and sat in front her "Of course I did, you are important to me and I wanted to just show you that…now come on eat up before it gets cold."

She smiled and lifted the sandwich and took a bite, she was actually overwhelmed by this sweet gesture and she looked up and saw him looking at her.

She lifted the sandwich towards his mouth, he smiled at her and took a bite. They ate breakfast together.

Yeah, things were coming back together.

0O0


	8. Chapter 8

_**Re- Written Version**_

_**Assume Standard Disclaimer**_

"You know Green Arrow finally proposed to Black Canary." Raven stated as she approached the archer in the Ops room. He jerked, a little startled from cooking and said to the smirking Raven "Yeah I helped him with choosing the ring."

Raven sat next to him on the bar stool and said "You're messing with me right, the ring was beautiful."

"No, I'm- Hey! My choice is not that bad." He protested after her words sunk into him and her implied meaning also. She smirked and said "I never said that."

"But you implied it." He said with a pout. She just chuckled at him and pinched his nose to which he whined but also felt his anger leave him, it was so rare to hear her laugh that he felt lucky when he heard it.

"But they do look great together." She added. He nodded.

"Do you know when the wedding is?" he asked. "In six weeks." She replied.

He just smiled and then turned towards the empath and said with a flirtatious grin and while wiggling his eyebrows "This just proves that hero archers and heroine birds are made for each other."

She just blushed and her mug cracked which made the archer laugh.

0O0

**Episode- The beast within**

They were in an abandoned warehouse fighting an egotistical man in a red metal armour which gave him strength and if possible more arrogance. "So you wimps think you can take down Adonis." Came the voice of the villain. Speedy just rolled his eyes at the usage of narcissism of the villain.

While Beastboy said something stupid and got hit by Raven's dry sarcasm, soon the boy wonder gave the signal and the titans were off. They attacked simultaneously, first Robin hit him with his staff, then Speedy tried blasting him with his energy arrows, then Beastboy attacked him in his wolf form, Raven and Starfire blasted him with their powers and Cyborg hit him. But all their attempts were in vain as nothing affected Adonis.

Adonis started attacking back, he threw Robin back and broke his staff, and he threw Starfire also when she tried to attack him with her star bolts. Raven chanted her mantra and encased his suit in her magic but he came out of it and jumped on Raven, successfully pinning her down on the floor under his weight.

Speedy saw Adonis give Raven a lewd grin and heard him say growling suggestively "You're feisty." The archer was enraged at seeing the villain pin the girl of his affections down and give her a lewd look; he immediately started blasting the villain with multiple energy arrows as Raven teleported from under him. Soon Cyborg also joined hitting the suited villain with his bare hands.

Ever since that fateful day when they had met, Cyborg had come to think of Raven as his little sister, and even Raven had come to think of him as her older brother. She trusted him enough to confide in him and they talked usually when they were working on his car in the garage; all the other titans knew that they didn't want to be bothered and they happily let them be as well.

Adonis crushed Cyborg's metallic arm and sent Speedy flying into the wall and then Beastboy started attacking him. Nobody actually remembers what had happened between Adonis and Beastboy as they were all down. They remember seeing Adonis being pushed into the tube of chemicals by Beastboy and Robin shouted to warn them but it was off no use.

The chemicals spilled out and the two were coated in it. After that green smoke disappeared the team saw Adonis falling out of his metal armour revealing a skinny man and Beastboy in bear form with the chemicals seeping in his skin.

They all noticed the change of attitude in Beastboy but didn't say anything much on it.

The next morning, Robin was making breakfast and was using personalized oven mitts which were brought to attention by Speedy. The archer just loved pushing Robin's buttons and did not let any opportunity escape him in doing so. Soon Beastboy entered the kitchen and ate the meat breakfast Robin had made for himself which shocked the masked heroes; for everyone knew that Beastboy was a hard core vegan.

As he left the common room Speedy turned to Robin and asked "Is it just me or is he acting way too different and weird?"

"It's not just you." Robin said narrowing his eyes to when the changeling was just minutes prior.

All the day the team kept any eye on him, first he ate meat which Robin had made for himself, then he refused to put on Starfire's favourite show and asked her to get him soda, then he scratched Cyborg's metal armour when they argued about some video game. Then during practice he challenged Speedy into a contest of archery as the archer was praised by everyone on improving and being called the best archer among the titans, and the changeling winked at Raven knowing what effect it would have on the scarlet haired man and after their contest when Beastboy lost, he almost broke the bow in his anger.

Lastly he intentionally bumped into Raven when she was walking while reading her book and refused to apologize and said "Why don't you watch where you're going?"

"You're a jerk." She said and picked up her book and started walking towards the common room. She stopped when she saw the green shape shifter in front of her who said "You know Raven, I've been a very nice guy for a long time and I am done."

"Is this the part where I am supposed to be intimidated?" She said meeting his eye for eye.

"No, this is." He said and changed into the beast. Raven summoned her power and took a step back in reflex.

"Beastboy!" Robin said in a voice full of authority which stopped the changeling's attack on the empath and he turned to see the rest of the team standing there with angry looks on their faces.

"Leave. Her. Alone." Speedy and Robin said in unison. Speedy was in an attacking stance while Robin crossed his arms over his chest, protectiveness flowing from both the males. Seeing their stances and hearing their statements he morphed back and walked to his room giving Raven one last glare before leaving.

"Something definitely is wrong with Beastboy." Robin said and the others just nodded. That night Speedy was a little reluctant about leaving Raven alone in her room after what happened with Beastboy. He did trust his green friend but his concern for Raven's well-being was clouding his mind. He saw the feral look in the changeling's eyes and that greatly concerned him.

"So you're sure that you'll be fine…I can stay." He offered as he walked Raven back to her room.

"For the last time…I'll be fine Speedy." She said trying to fight off her smile at his concern but Speedy saw it. After almost eight years of knowing the empath he was relatively good at reading her so he saw it.

"Okay but…if anything. I am just in the next hall." He said; Raven could feel his concern radiating from his aura and she lightly kissed his cheek before her sudden boldness left her and said "Thank you…good night, I'll see you tomorrow."

She quickly stepped into her room blushing slightly and closed the door seeing Speedy lightly touch the spot she kissed. "I can't believe I did that." Raven muttered to herself as she placed her head in her hands.

Outside her room, Speedy was still standing with his fingers on the spot she kissed. He smiled dreamily and almost floated to his room barely noticing their leader who was a little red from seeing the kiss. "She kissed me…granted it was on the cheek but it was kiss nevertheless." He thought in glee as he changed into his night attire and climbed into his bed and slept with a smile on his face.

Speedy was woken up from his sleep by the ringing of his communicator, he pulled the offending device and clicked to answer it, he was met with a panicked face of Raven which woke him in an instant. He jumped out of bed while asking with panic in his voice "Rae…are you alright? Raven?!" The line went dead before she could speak and he exclaimed "Raven!"

Speedy jumped and grabbed his weapons but before he left his room he heard a blood curdling scream and he recognized the voice at an instant, it was Raven. His mind went into an overdrive and before he knew what was going on he was running towards the room of the dark beauty. He saw his other teammates also rushing towards the room.

"She's not in her room." Cyborg said as he exited Raven's room. Speedy's heart was beating so fast that he heard it in his ears; he was silently cursing himself for listening to his instincts. His gut had screamed at him to not leave the empath alone but he hadn't listened.

Then Starfire asked something which jerked him out of his thoughts "Beastboy?" Speedy growled lowly in his throat and ran towards the changeling's room followed by Robin, Cyborg and Starfire also. He came to a halt when he saw the condition of his room, there were claw marks on the walls, the bunk bed was broken and everything else was lying in shambles. They approached the broken window and saw claw marks all through the wall outside the window.

Speedy was losing his mind slowly, his mind jumping on to the worst case scenarios and he couldn't be able to stop them. He was currently speeding on his bike beside Robin who was on his bike to find Raven and maybe get a clue to what happened. Cyborg was in the t-car and Starfire was searching through the skies.

"Alright team, we got two titans missing and no explanation…we need answers so split up." Robin ordered and the team followed his command.

Speedy hadn't said one word since this debacle had started; his mind was currently on the girl he loves and who could be in real danger. He followed Robin's command and speeded off in one direction.

After half an hour of searching and not finding anything Starfire called them through the communicator and said "I have spotted something…something with claws."

"Sharing your co-ordinates." Cyborg said and Speedy was notified by a beep on his communicator giving him the coordinates. Speedy pinned the location and increased the speed to reach their fast.

Speedy reached where Robin was and his heart almost stopped when he saw him holding a piece of Raven's cloak. "Raven." They both muttered and looked at each other; they could see the worry in the expression and with a nod they sped away together.

"I just got a lock on Raven…and she is moving fast." Cyborg said and a tiny wave of relief washed through Speedy. They got her coordinates and all the titans rushed to that location. They all rounded up and came to an empty spot, Speedy was ready to tear his hair by now.

"She was here just a second ago." Cyborg stated.

"No, she was down there." Robin said looking at the underground hole. Speedy composed himself again and followed the boys to climb down when he felt a hand on his shoulder "She will be the all right friend Speedy, friend Raven is quite strong." Starfire said gently.

"I hope so Star, I hope so." Speedy said and climbed the hole. They all walked with Cyborg guiding them with a built in flash light and Raven's coordinates on the computer in his arm. They arrived at the location and saw Raven's communicator lying on a stone tablet. Speedy picked it up and clutched it in his hands thinking "Please be all right Raven."

"Oh, I wish to know that our friends are okay now." Starfire said from behind. Robin muttered to himself but Speedy heard him saying "It's not Beastboy I'm worried about."

Speedy was too worried at that moment to think about the boy wonder's words. They all were brought out their thoughts when they heard furious roars; since they could not identify the source they split up to find their friends.

They all arrived at a common point and saw something huge move, the team trailed after the figure and Cyborg focused his flashlight and saw a huge green best like creature. It turned around and they all gasped when they saw Raven hanging from his mouth from her hood; her eyes were closed and her body limp.

In that moment all Speedy saw was the unconscious empath and her being held by their green teammate by his teeth. Speedy narrowed his eyes and aimed an arrow when the beast put Raven to the group, releasing her from his teeth rather gently. When Robin yelled his infamous battle cry, Speedy had already launched the energy arrow and it had hit the beast successfully, he then ran towards the creature with the other titans behind him. Speedy was thrown back by the creature and Cyborg hit him with his hands, Robin also kicked him but the creature threw all of them back.

Starfire had flown up to Raven to see if their friend was all right or not while the boys were trying to fight the beast. Speedy put all his anger in his attacks but the beast didn't seem to stop down. He kept coming to Raven and the team tried to push him away as much as possible. They all blasted him with their powers at the same time and that seemed to knock the beast down.

Speedy ran to Raven when he saw that the beast was knocked down; he dropped his bow next to her and pulled her body into his lap so that he was cradling her lithe form. "Rae…look at me." He hugged her tightly against his heart and muttered while pressing his fingers to take in her pulse "I got you Rae, I got you."

He picked her up bridal style and told his friends who were standing near the slowly waking up body of their green teammate "We need to take her to the infirmary." Robin gave a curt nod and told Cyborg to take them to the tower while he and Starfire will deal with Beastboy.

While driving Cyborg could see Speedy lightly caressing Raven's face through the rear view mirror, his face showed nothing but concern and affection. Raven was still situated in his arms and Speedy was holding her tightly against him. Cyborg smiled a bit at seeing the archer's obvious affection for his little sister; he knew that she liked him back, she had confided in him once as well. Somehow everyone saw their obvious affections for each other but they didn't.

Typical.

The metallic man looked at the worried archer and the unconscious empath one last time before hitting the acceleration and zooming to the tower.

Later when they were in the infirmary when Raven started floating on the bed, Starfire and Cyborg were panicking while the archer and their leader sat by her bed with relief shining on his handsome face. "She is healing herself…she'll be all right." Speedy told them, his eyes not moving from her form.

"And you're telling me that I did that to her." Beastboy said which alerted them of the changeling's presence. He was tied up to a chair by metal strips.

"That's impossible." The changeling added after a few seconds. "We found you with her." Robin informed him, clenching his teeth all the while not removing his eyes from the levitating empath, his sister who was unconscious because of the shape shifter, he tried his best to control his anger. He was mad at himself too, he had promised himself to always protect her but he had failed.

"No, I wouldn't…we had a fight but, I would never." Beastboy protested.

Speedy had blocked out their conversation, his only concern was the healing empath until he heard Beastboy say "Raven, she's gonna be alright. Isn't she?"

That was his tipping point as he lost his cool and snapped with all the fury that had been building up inside him since she went missing. He got up and started taking slow but strong steps towards the green titan "She will be, no thanks to you. You are the reason she is like this, you are the reason she needs to heal herself." Beastboy sunk his head in his hands after hearing the red headed hero's words.

He stopped when Cyborg placing a calming hand on his shoulder, he inhaled shakily and went back to sitting by the empath. In the back ground Robin was interrogating the changeling.

Suddenly there was a loud noise; they all saw Beastboy morph back into the beast. Speedy picked up his bow and his arrows and stood in front of Raven's bed, blocking her from the Changeling's view. The best started running towards Raven and Speedy one of his special arrows at him, Cyborg trapped the green creature with rope descending from his arm and the archer shot his arrow which froze the creature momentarily as he broke from the ice as well as from the rope.

They all started fighting him but he was too strong to be overpowered by the team. The beast was blasted outside the infirmary by the tamaranian princess and he just ran from the tower. Robin told Starfire to guard Raven while the boys ran after the beast.

Robin, Speedy and Cyborg were fighting the beast and had him cornered in an underground tunnel when he leaped over Cyborg and started fighting a similar looking red beast. The two were engaged in a brutal fight and the boys did their best to not come in between them but also help Beastboy a little.

Beastboy defeated the red beast that morphed back into Adonis, the green beast fell down after expelling so much of his energy but his friends were there to support him.

After they arrived at the tower, Raven told them everything. How Beastboy had saved her from Adonis and how he didn't harm her. Beastboy was given an antidote to counter the effect of the chemicals which caused this.

Later Speedy found Raven sitting next to Beastboy on the shore. Speedy neared them and heard Beastboy saying "Maybe you should call me Beast Man from now on."

"Don't ruin it." Raven said and Speedy smirked hearing the eye roll in her voice.

The archer sat beside the changeling and said with an apologetic sigh "I'm sorry I said all those things Beastboy…I should have trusted you more."

Beastboy turned to see the archer, a little surprised but told himself that he shouldn't be as since he had known them Raven and Speedy had been inseparable, and said with a goofy grin "It's all in the past now, dude." Speedy just smiled and placed his hand in a friendly way on his shoulder.

After a few moments Beastboy smiled and got up and said as he left "I'm gonna go beat Cyborg at video games…see you guys later."

Speedy turned to Raven who was sitting beside him and his heart skipped a beat, her pale skin was glowing with the moon light and her eyes shone like bright diamonds; her smile just made her look stunning.

"I'm glad you're okay Rae." Speedy said leaning forward to take Raven's hand in his and lightly caressing it.

"Why?" she asked trying to trap him. He just smirked and said "Because, nobody else in my life is as sarcastic as you, nobody pinches my nose at every chance they get… And I will miss my daily dose of witty remarks."

"Oh, you're terrible." She laughed lightly punching his arms and pulling her hand from his. "And about the pinching your nose." She quickly pinched his nose and he whined playfully.

"You asked." Speedy laughed after freeing his nose from her hands, but got her hand back in his.

After a couple of comfortable silence he said seriously "I'm glad you're okay Rae, I don't know what I would do without you."

She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder "Me too Roy, me too." He smiled and rested his head on hers and they both sat comfortably watching the moon shine in all its glory.

"Where's Raven? She should be in the infirmary." Robin asked the boys playing video games with a slight hint of panic in his voice.

"She's on the shore…ooh beat that Cy." Beastboy said his concentration not moving from the game.

"You know I will." Cyborg said and furiously tapped the buttons on the controller.

"I'll go and keep her company." Robin said to himself, he needed to make sure for himself that his little sister was all right with that he started walking towards the exit; he reached the shore when he saw Starfire floating with joy and barely controlling her squeals.

The boy wonder placed a hand on her shoulder and was about to say something when Starfire interrupted him saying "They look the most adorable, do they not?"

Robin followed her line of sight and saw Speedy and Raven sitting together with their backs turned towards them, they were watching the moon with Raven's head on Speedy's shoulder and the archer resting his head on hers.

The dark knight's protégé was shocked at seeing Raven voluntarily indulge in physical contact, and the contact between the archer and the dark bird seemed so pure and simple.

"Let us go back; we must not do the interrupting of them." Starfire said with a smile and dragged their shocked leader back inside.

0O0

**Episode- Bunny Raven…or…How to make a Titananimal disappear**

The team was fighting a new villain called Mumbo; he was supposed to be a magician of some sorts. The team was hitting him with everything they had but the villain seemed to dodge everything and counter it with his own weapons, he had countered Starfire with his magic cards, tied Beastboy and Cyborg with his enchanted handkerchief rope, had knocked down Speedy and Robin while pulling Cyborg with that rope.

The final titan, Raven was fighting the seemed to be magician, they countered each other's magic, Raven chanted her mantra and lifted up the pillar from in front of her friends and tried to hit the villain with it but nothing she did affected him. The villain then pulled his hat and many white papers ascended from it and started flying around Raven in such a speed that it felt like there was a white tornado enveloping her.

Raven no longer levitating, her concentration was destroyed and she was caught in the tornado, the tornado was approaching her friends. Speedy and Robin were standing side by side and tried to approach the girl at the same time exclaiming "Raven!"

Raven saw the red headed archer standing there with his hand reached out towards her, she took his hand and even he was about to be pulled inside the tornado when Robin grabbed him, and Starfire grabbed Robin, Cyborg grabbed Starfire and Beastboy morphed into a large animal and grabbed the metallic man.

Robin was a little upset that Raven had grabbed Speedy's hand and not his, in a way he felt that she would always trust the archer more than him, her brother, with herself and he shouldn't have been surprised by it, Raven and Speedy had become friends a couple years before they had even met him and Black Canary and Green Arrow were close so their protégés had almost been brought up together; and even when she wanted to leave Speedy had left with her.

He also knew that in some ways he may have neglected her and their bond was straining a little so he made a mental note to bond with her soon.

They all got sucked into the magician's hat and it felt like they were falling, Speedy tried to keep a hold on Raven but their hands were getting shaky and clammy and his gloves did not make things easier, he lost his hold on her and Raven fell screaming.

Meanwhile the other titans fell in the middle of a street, they got up groaning and saw a city around them but the odd thing was that everything was in Mumbo's name; they were getting up when two masked heroes realized that a teammate was absent. "Where is she?" Robin yelled at Speedy as he approached him. "Her hand slipped from mine." Speedy muttered and clenched his fists silently cursing himself. "How can you let her go?" Robin said angrily, it had not been long since the Adonis incident, his protectiveness over her was still quite high. "I didn't do it intentionally." Speedy said with equal anger. Before they could fight any longer Cyborg stepping in and said "Guys! Arguing will solve nothing…we need to find Raven."

They nodded after a few seconds and gave a glare before walking along the street to find the dark beauty. After a while of walking around they realized that they were walking in circles, Starfire said "If only there was a sign to guide us." And a huge sign popped up, clearly saying that Raven was inside the theatre. The team ran inside and they found themselves in the dark when suddenly a yellow light flashed and they saw that they were standing on a table. "Raven!" Speedy shouted and was a little relived when they heard Raven's monotone "Speedy, I'm here."

Starfire looked and then asked "Has the Mumbo made you invisible?"

"No, I'm up here." They looked up and saw a cage dangling above them, but the weird part was that a white bunny in Raven's cloak and hood was peeking back at them. "Uhh…Why does that rabbit sound like Raven?" Beastboy asked with confusion. Starfire floated up when the bunny looked down and said "Because I am Raven."

Starfire saw her best friend as a bunny and said giggling slightly "Oh, you look so cute." The bunny Raven growled a little and then they heard the archer's voice from beneath them "Wait, I gotta see this, Star can you give me a lift?" Robin face palmed himself at the archer's antics.

"No, no-" Raven desperately tried to tell the alien but Starfire had already floated down and said "Of course friend Speedy." Starfire held the archer and floated him up so that he could also see the dark beauty as a cute white bunny. "Oh Raven…look at me, please." Speedy tried to coax the bunny from where it was huddled to one side, looking away from the archer.

"Come on, I am opening the cage, so that you can hop away." He chuckled and a vein throbbed in Raven's forehead at his antics, then she heard the locks opening and she turned.

Big mistake, because as soon as she turned a flash went off and she came to face to face with the archer holding a tiny camera near his eye and a huge grin on his face. This was his secret camera that he carried to every mission with an inbuilt phone also with it.

"Oh, you delete that right now Speedy, or so help me god I will castrate you." She growled and almost slipped out of the cage and was falling to the ground when Speedy caught her and Starfire floated them to the ground. Raven was growling the entire time while Speedy made bunny puns; they thanked Starfire when they reached the ground.

Before they could do anything else a huge white gloved hand came and pulled Raven from Speedy's arms by her ears and dropped her in a huge black hat, they all tried attacking but the huge hand countered which belonged to Mumbo countered all their attacks and dropped them also inside the hat in which there was a hat in which Raven was supposed to be in.

Mumbo materialized in front of them almost like a giant, Robin tried to hit him with his bird-a-rang, Beastboy attacked with in his pterodactyl form and Cyborg, Starfire and Speedy hit him at once with their sonic beams, star bolts and energy arrows. It knocked the villain out of the stage but he came back and said some stupid one liner before mumbling some incantation at them.

Robin was changed into a monkey, Starfire into a cat, Cyborg into a pink tutu wearing bear and Speedy into a sea lion. And Beastboy was turned into a green lamp because he changed back into himself every time he was changed into an animal.

"On with the show." Mumbo said and he disappeared into blue smoke as did the titans. The titans were discussing on their upcoming strategy when Cyborg was trying to remove the tutu, Starfire was scratching herself to rid herself of the flees and Speedy started messing with his head with his fins.

At the end, Raven saved the day by her trick with paint and they all came out the magician's hat. Mumbo was sent to jail and all the titans happily returned to the tower.

They all were sitting in the common room, relaxing after the fight when Beastboy turned to Speedy and said "Dude, do you still have the picture of bunny raven?" Raven growled at remembering what the archer had done and Speedy just smirked and said "Yes, I do and it's going in my private collection…I am sure that it will come handy in the future."

"Dude, can I also get a copy of them." Beastboy requested while rubbing his hands and looking at Raven, pretending to be evil.

Raven growled a little at the archer and said "Speedy! You delete it now."

"No, can do Rae." Speedy grinned with a huge teasing grin. He was smiling until he saw a devilish smirk appear on the empath's face. That cannot be good for him and this was proved when she said "Very well then I will be forced to reveal what happened on 16th February."

All colour left Speedy's face "No Rae, you promised you won't tell anyone." Now all the titans were intrigued about the secret story that only Raven knew and which she used to blackmail the archer.

"Well I'm reconsidering that." Raven said the devilish smirk increasing and forcing him to remember that she was half demon.

"Friend please do the telling of us, what happened on the 16th of February?" Starfire asked with curiosity.

"Well we were just returning-" Raven started but was interrupted by Speedy who put a hand on her mouth whilst panicking and said "I'll make you a deal, if you won't reveal the story then even I won't send the pictures to anyone." Raven smirked and nodded and then Speedy moved his hand from her mouth. They shook on it and Speedy lingered, not ready to let the contact severe; they broke apart from a teasing cough by Cyborg and then they turned to see Cyborg, Beastboy and Starfire with teasing smiles on their faces and Robin was sitting with a blank expression on his face.

Raven blushed a little and picked up her book, hiding her face behind it while Speedy cleared his throat and diverted the topic.

**_The next chapter we'll have Speedy, Raven and Robin flying out for Green Arrow and Black Canary's wedding. _**

_**Please read and review.**_


	9. Chapter 9: The Wedding-1

_**Re-Written Version**_

_**Assume Standard Disclaimer**_

Robin walked into the common room with questions erupting in his mind, his mentor had called abruptly and had asked to assemble at 1:30 pm sharp for a call, and he needed to speak to him about something. The dark knight had also mentioned for him to inform Raven and Speedy about the call.

So that's why he was walking to the common room now; the rest of the team was out for movies and grocery shopping because Starfire, Cyborg and Beastboy were the pickiest when it came to food, Star with her weird tastes, Cyborg with his love for meat and barbeque and Beastboy with his specifications when it came to tofu.

The door to the common room swished open and he saw Raven meditating, she was floating over the couch and the archer was staring at her while she completed her daily ritual of meditation. Robin as silent as night approached them and saw the archer with a dreamy smile on his face as he looked at the empath who was meditating without her hood covering her face today.

Speedy sighed and leaned back on the couch resting his arms on the back of the couch, before he could say anything a ringing disrupted the quiet and Raven lost her concentration because of the surprise and landed almost on top of Speedy who just smiled in a flirtatious manner.

Raven blushed a little which caused a small crash in the background and quickly pulled her hood over, she sat beside Speedy almost too close for Robin's tastes but he tried to ignore it and accepted the call. The large television screen showed the dark knight's and Green Arrow's face.

The young heroes greeted the heroes and the dark knight said in his cold and business type voice "We have called to tell you that we would want you three to attend Black Canary's and Green Arrow's wedding."

"And since you're our adoptive wards it would be suspicious if you don't attend the wedding." Green Arrow added.

"But what about Jump city?" Robin asked his mentor with his eyebrows furrowing.

"I have seen over the reports and I believe that the rest of the team can take care of the city for a few days." Batman said. Robin then reluctantly nodded, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You will be flying out in two days and the itinerary is forwarded to you on your communicators." Batman said straight to the point. "We'll see you then." Green Arrow said and they ended the call. The call was straight to the point, no excess talking.

"So we're going to Star city." Robin said as they looked at the itinerary. "And that too on Thursday, we'll need to start packing." Speedy observed.

Suddenly the doors swished open and Starfire, Cyborg and Beastboy walked in; Robin maintained his leader stance and said "Me, Raven and Speedy will not be here for the weekend so Cyborg will be in charge." They were startled by the abruptness of the announcement but slowly they snapped out of it.

"Booyah!" Cyborg exclaimed with joy as Beastboy protested "That's not fair." A look from Robin silenced the green changeling. "Where are you the going friends?" Starfire asked the three.

"We have to go to Star city, our mentors have called us." Robin said. "When shall you be leaving?" Starfire asked. "On Thursday afternoon and we will return Monday evening." Robin said. "It'll be fun…sweet!" Beastboy exclaimed after a while .

"Speaking of fun, I have some rules for you two." Robin said looking at the metallic man and the green shape shifter. While Raven got up from the couch and slowly made her way to the alien, Raven knew that there was no other choice so she asked not delaying the inevitable "Star, will help me in packing and come with me to the mall?"

The squeal Starfire let out was ear piercing worthy, she grabbed the dark empath's hand and said flying towards the exit and dragging the empath with her "Sure dearest friend and we must make the haste."

The boys just laughed at Raven's expression but it was short lived as Robin started dictating the rules and how he wants them to check in once every day and the two boys just groaned while Speedy laughed.

0O0

"Have the safe journey friends, I shall miss you dearly." Starfire said as they all stepped in the garage and she gave them each a bone crushing hug. "Have fun." Cyborg said as he shook the guys' hands and gave a bear hug to Raven. "Don't worry about anything here." Beastboy said and gave his friends a light hug. Raven was not used to the contact and stiffened a bit but didn't say anything.

Speedy, Robin and Raven had changed their appearances. The boys were wearing civilian clothes with black shades to keep their secret identity intact while Raven was wearing a holographic ring which Cyborg had made specifically for her; it turned her grey skin into cream pale and her hair into black, her eyes were deep blue with the barest hint of amethyst and her gem was hidden.

The three protégés said their byes and stepped out of the tower, they were taking their civilian car to the airport. Speedy insisted on helping Raven to load her luggage while she just rolled her eyes at him and loaded her black bag pack in the boot of the car.

"I'll drive." Speedy said as he started walking towards the driver's seat, "No, I'll drive." Robin insisted. "Come on Rob, I can drive much better." Robin raised his eyebrows behind his shades and argued "Don't make me laugh arrow head."

They both argued for ten minutes when Raven sat in the driver's seat and said loudly, shutting them both effectively "I'm driving."

Before Robin could comprehend what was happening, Speedy jumped and sat in the front seat, beside Raven saying "Shotgun…boy wonder can sit in the back." Robin grumbled and pouted a little as he sat on the backseat and Raven drove off.

The whole time Speedy was very chatting with Raven while the boy wonder sat at the back in silence and looked at his childhood friends talking happily and with a strange comfort and the raven haired boy couldn't help but feel that there nobody than the archer that he would trust his sister with. With that he resolved to get to know them even better than he did during this weekend and make sure that Speedy was perfect for Raven.

They arrived at the airport. They were taking Wayne enterprise's private jet to Star city given to them graciously by Robin and Raven's adoptive father, Bruce Wayne. They boarded the plane and were greeted by the flight attendants.

The private jet was everything that billionaire would want it to be, luxurious, fancy and with the best service available.

The three sat in the comfortable seats of the plane and the flight took off, they would be reaching Star City in less than five hours depending on the weather and air traffic. The flight attendant came and asked them for their choices in drinks. Raven asked for tea while the boys asked for black coffee.

Speedy looked at the dark beauty and saw her reading her book while she sipped her tea slowly, the red head was bored out of his mind; Raven was reading and the boy wonder was reading the newspaper. Speedy smirked as he walked up to Raven and snatched the book out of her hands.

"Hey! Give that back." she said trying to reach for her book but he kept it out of her reach. "And she is back in the land of the living." He said with a smile.

"Roy, give it back." She demanded. "Nope." He popped the 'p' to annoy her and his grin widened when he could see her getting riled up. He just loved to get under her skin and didn't leave any opportunity to do so.

"I was just getting to the good part." She said with a tiny pout and he wanted to point out how adorable she looked but he liked breathing so he didn't. "And you can read it later; it will still be there Rave."

After a few moments she sighed and said "So what do you suggest I do in the mean time?"

"Talk to me." He said simple and moved to sit beside her, she looked at him with an eyebrow arched and asked "About what?"

"Anything, it has been so long since we talked like Roy and Rachel, in Jump we are Speedy and Raven." He said sincerely as he removed his glasses to reveal his deep expressive eyes and in that moment he became Roy Harper again; Raven smiled a little and was about to say something when she realized that Robin was sitting alone. She nudged the red headed and nodded in the direction of the boy wonder.

Speedy understood and smiled, he admired that she always looked out for others; complying with her wishes he turned to their leader and said "Come on Richard, you can also join us." The raven haired boy smiled a little, they were the only ones who knew his real name and he got up and sat opposite to his childhood friends; just happy to be friends like they once were.

"You guys travelled a lot right, so which place did you like best?" Robin started. Raven had a tiny smile on her lips and a far off look in her eyes as if remembering a fond memory "New Orleans." She answered. "Mine was Miami." Speedy said after a thought.

"New Orleans?" Robin asked in confusion, he could see why Speedy liked Miami the place was near the beach, had a fun night life and it suited Speedy, but he didn't know much about New Orleans.

"Yeah, it's small city in Louisiana, it's full of music, dancing and festivals." Raven told the boy wonder.

"The place actually has a round the clock, brilliant night life and is full of fortune tellers, palm readers. And luckily we arrived at the time of their main festivals- Mardi gras so we actually had so much fun there plus the people are amazing too." Speedy explained. Then the archer turned to Raven and said looking at her with an unreadable emotion in his eyes "Remember, we danced all night on Bourbon Street and explored the French quarter." Raven just smiled at him fondly, remembering that memory.

After a couple of minutes the dark beauty turned to Robin and asked him about what he did in these past three years, he smiled and shared with his friends.

They talked throughout the duration of their journey, reminiscing about their past adventures and moments and revealing what happened when Raven and Speedy had left the shelter of their mentors to do something on their own three years ago.

They didn't realize when they landed, too involved in the story Robin was telling them. The announcement to notify them that they had arrived at their destination jostled them out of their conversation, they looked at each other sheepishly and Speedy said "Didn't realize where the time went." And the two dark haired heroes agreed.

They exited the aircraft and collected their luggage and got in the car which was arranged to pick them up by Oliver Queen, they were supposed to meet their mentors in the hotel which they were staying in, and the hotel was owned by Oliver and was booked entirely for heroes.

They reached their destination with Roy speaking the entire way and introducing his friends to Star City through the windows until Raven reminded him that she also visited the place regularly because of her mentor. He just looked sheepish and had focused his attention towards their fearless leader and annoying him.

Raven took a deep breath, remembering the memories she had made during her visits to this city, the fondest one of meeting her first friend, who was slowly becoming so much more than a friend, Speedy. She smiled a bit and let the familiarity wash over her as she got out of the car and walked towards the entrance of the hotel with the boys in tow as the hotel staff tended to their luggage.

The three teenagers stepped inside the hotel and saw Oliver, Dinah and Bruce standing in the lobby discussing something. The three were ecstatic at seeing their mentors especially Roy and Raven as they had not seen them in person for three years. They walked towards the older heroes and suddenly Dinah's eyes fell upon them and her face split into a huge grin with a little bit of shock lacing her eyes; Bruce and Oliver followed her gaze and were met with the sight of their wards.

They all snapped their attention towards their children and they grinned at their slightly shocked expression, the justice leaguers were not expecting them till later. Dinah was the first one who snapped out of it and wrapped her adoptive daughter in a warm hug. Raven smiled at the older woman and hugged her back tightly. "I missed you." Raven admitted softly and Dinah smiled and muttered kissing her the younger woman's brow "I missed you too, Rae."

Raven usually didn't physical contact or feelings in general but her empathy was bombarded by the affection the older heroes and her teammates were feeling so she just gave in. She looked over the older woman's shoulder and saw her friends also hugging their adoptive fathers and Richard talking to Bruce about something. She had missed her father so much, she couldn't wait to meet him, it had been too long for her liking. After a quick hug they parted and Dinah looked at the dark beauty with still a warm grin on her face and said "I hope you are happy in Jump City."

"Yeah, it has been interesting." Raven muttered and Dinah raised an eyebrow a bit and stated "I don't know what that means but I want to hear all the gory details later."

Raven just smiled and then was suddenly scooped up in a hug by Oliver Queen, she yelped a bit and she heard him laughing as he set her down and she could see Roy being hugged by Dinah, she looked at the blonde hero and said with a soft smile "Hello Oliver."

"Hey Rae…I hope everything is good and Roy is being good to you." He said the last part looking at his adoptive son who had come and stood next to the empath. Raven looked at Roy with a fondness in her eyes as she answered the older hero "He's annoying but he is good to me."

Roy ears turned a little pink and Oliver noted the look in the teenagers' eyes and tucked it away for later when he would speak to the red head privately. "Come on quite hogging Rachel, there is someone waiting in line." Dinah said playfully and Raven turned and saw her father standing there.

She didn't say anything but hugged the dark knight as tight as she could. Bruce smiled, his heart melting at the sight of his daughter, it had been too long since he had met her granted he regularly checked on her but it was not the same as seeing her in person.

"I missed you so much dad." She said softly in his ear, and the raven haired hero just smiled hearing her call him 'dad', it really had been too long and hugged her tighter and said in his stoic voice "I missed you too, my daughter."

They parted after a bit and she was talking to the dark knight and filling him on everything that happened with her while Richard and Roy were talking to the to-be-married couple. Suddenly there was a voice behind Raven which interrupted her story.

"Hey, who's the girl?" Raven turned and saw a boy probably her age with broad shoulders and a lean body; he had black hair and aquamarine eyes and a cheeky grin on his face. Raven looked at her father in confusion who asked the boy to come near them.

"Rachel this is Jason and Jason this is Rachel…, remember I told you about him; he is my new son, I adopted him a year ago." The dark knight said and recognition flashed in her eyes. Jason offered her his hand and she cautiously shook it.

"Wow, she is prettier than in the picture in your study B." Jason said with a flirtatious smile. "Uhhh…" Raven didn't know how to respond to that. "Jason!" Bruce growled a bit, his son or not Bruce felt every father's overprotective nature over the dark beauty regarding boys.

Jason raised his hands in mock surrender and turned to the dark beauty and said "So is Rachel your real name?"

She raised an eyebrow and said in her smoky monotone "No, it isn't."

He waited for a few minutes for her to maybe tell him her name but she didn't, instead she was just looking at the older heroes talking to Richard and a red headed boy wearing black sunglasses.

"And are you gonna tell me what your name is." Jason said turning the dark beauty's attention towards him again. "I can." She plainly answered.

He waited a couple more minutes and then groaned and said "Any time today would be nice."

"It would now, wouldn't it?" The empath said with a grin that would rival that of the devil itself. Jason was dumbfounded for a bit but then started laughing and said "You're killing me, sunshine."

"Sunshine?" Raven asked raising an eyebrow.

"Well you aren't telling me your name, so I came up with a name for you." The new bat protégé replied smugly. Now Raven was intrigued by this teenager, since Speedy he was the one who was able to challenge her. "Well sunshine, I have read about you being the strongest and most lethal titan but quite frankly that's a little hard for me to believe."

Raven smirked and took his challenge, in a couple of moments her eyes glowed white and thin black tentacle came from her and wrapped around Jason's legs, he realized the error of his challenge when he was raised a bit in air and then the tentacle disappeared and he fell on his back.

Now Jason was interested, this girl isn't what she looks like. She was smart, beautiful and dangerous; he knew that he wanted to know more about this young heroine. Suddenly there was a hand in front of him.

He raised his neck a bit and saw Raven offering him her hand, he smiled and took the empath's hand and allowed her to help him get up. He got up and the girl said softly "Raven…my name is Raven." He smiled wider and didn't let her hand go as of yet as he said flirtatiously leaning towards her a bit "A beautiful name for a beautiful little bird."

Raven blushed a little -this boy was different, he was blunt in his approach and his playful nature intrigued her-; and took her hand from his but before she could say anything a voice from behind them said "Who is that?" They looked at their company and saw the voice belonging to the red head that had crossed his arms over his chest and had a frown gracing his features.

"That…is my new brother, Jason." Richard said with his arms also crossed over his chest. "And this is Roy, Oliver's son." Richard introduced them.

After a couple of minutes Bruce said that he had to take Richard to run some errands while Dinah had to go to a last minute dress fitting and Oliver was talking Roy to his mansion for some overdue archery practice. "I can take Rachel with me." Oliver offered and Roy nodded.

But Raven was a little hesitant, she knew that Roy had missed his mentor and it was no doubt that even Oliver had missed the young lad and she didn't want to intrude; so she decided to stay at the hotel, maybe unpack and explore the hotel a bit.

"If it's all right then I can stay with sunshine here and keep her company. I'm not doing anything today." Jason said and turned his attention towards Bruce for acceptance. He knew that Bruce was very attached to the young heroine and he thought of her as his daughter, so his acceptance was necessary. But he also knew that Bruce would not say no to him.

"Sunshine?!" Speedy sputtered to himself, he was seething seeing the new Robin flirt with the girl he loves and be so playful with her.

The stoic man nodded and then Jason turned towards Raven and said "So what do you say sunshine." Raven thought over it a couple of minutes and then shrugged in acceptance.

"Come on let's explore the hotel." Jason said and they started walking away, Raven waved at the heroes and told them that she would see them later and walked beside the new bat protégé. Roy was practically growling as he watched Raven walk away with Jason as he chatted away.

"Come on Roy, we should also go." Oliver's voice stopped Roy's growling and he looked at his mentor and nodded and they started walking away with Bruce, Dinah and Richard also walking with them.


	10. Chapter 10: The Wedding-2

_**Re-Written Version**_

_**Assume Standard Disclaimer**_

"_Come on Roy, we should also go." Oliver's voice stopped Roy's growling and he looked at his mentor and nodded after glancing at the girl of affections one more time and they started walking away with Bruce, Dinah and Richard. _

_0O0_

In the car, Oliver thoroughly interrogated Roy about his relationship with the dark beauty and how it had progressed and if he had confessed yet. To which Roy turned the colour of his hair and answered his adoptive father's questions.

After a few hours Roy was fussing with his clothes as he stood in front of the hotel mirror, tonight they were just having dinner with their mentors as from tomorrow the heroes and the guests would start coming in.

The red head should be living with Oliver in his mansion as should Raven with Black Canary but the wedding was taking place in the Queen Mansion so it was currently unavailable and Dinah thought that it would be better if Raven would stay with her friends and where other heroes would be so that she won't feel isolated as most of the time Dinah would also be here.

He fussed with his hair again and after ten minutes when he was satisfied he stuffed his phone in his right pocket and grabbed his room key card as he closed the door behind him. He knew that Raven's room was a little down the hall from his so he thought that he could walk with her to their destination.

He hadn't seen her since they met their mentors and her attention was captured by that new bat protégé, he was flirty and playful with her something that he didn't like at all. Roy scowled at that last thought and took a deep breath as he almost reached her room. He stopped in his tracks as he saw a boy standing in front of Raven's door, his frown deepened as he walked towards the boy and saw Raven coming out of the door. "Sorry, I'm late." He heard her say as she closed the door behind her.

"Nah, its fine…shall we sunshine?" the boy who Roy now knew was Jason said as the bat protégé was the only one who called Raven by this nickname.

The archer fumed a little seeing Raven smile at him and started to walk with towards her, she then turned seeming to feel his presence and offered Roy a smile saying "Hey Roy…I haven't seen you much today."

He smiled and said walking towards her "Then I think we should remedy that." She offered him one of his genuine smiles and his heart started fluttering seeing her smile, all his previous anger melting away knowing that he was the one of the lucky ones to whom she would give her earth shattering smiles; she always did catch his eyes but she always looked drop dead gorgeous when she smiled.

"Come on let's go, they must be waiting for us." Raven said and both the boys just nodded and walked towards the lift. "So Roy right?" Jason asked trying to introduce himself to the red head.

"Yup…and you're Jason, the new bat protégé who is driving Richard up the wall." Roy said trying to be polite and locking his jealousy away, and laughed a little remembering Richard's rants about his adoptive younger brother.

Jason just laughed and said "He is just too damn easy." They just laughed and made their way to the dining hall laughing and joking. They entered the room and saw Bruce, Oliver, Dinah and Richard sitting there, the three just smiled and greeted the other heroes and stepped in to sit down.

"Milady." Roy said in a fake British accent as he pulled out her chair for her and Raven took a seat next to Bruce who had just smiled at seeing his daughter. Raven just rolled her eyes playfully but offered him a smile and thanked him; he was about to sit next to her when he saw the Jason swooped in and took the seat next to her.

Jason just gave him a playful wink while smirking and Roy grumbled a bit as he took the seat next to Oliver. Richard was sitting on the other side of Bruce, Dinah was sitting parallel to Raven and Oliver was sitting next to his fiancé.

Roy couldn't find the chance to talk to Raven as Bruce had taken to speak to his daughter and honestly the red head didn't have the heart to interrupt them as he would never admit it but he was terrified of the dark knight but also as he knew that Raven was quite attached to the dark knight and had confided in him that she missed her father.

Soon Roy, Richard and Jason were drawn into a conversation with Oliver and Dinah. They ate their dinner whilst chatting and catching up happily.

"I hope everything is going well with your new team." Bruce said as he took a sip of his water. "Yeah, I am quite comfortable with them; they understand me and are strong heroes…and we have become good friends."

Bruce was relived a bit, after he had gotten the news that Richard, Speedy and Raven had formed a team with a changeling, a Cyborg and an alien he often wondered if the empath was happy with them.

Truthfully he had many worries about sending his daughter away from him and that too when the threat of Trigon was looming over them, but he understood why she wanted to go and that's why he agreed and also the fact that Speedy was accompanying her made his decision a little easier; he didn't have to like the boy for he had feelings for his daughter but at the same time there was no one he would trust more than the red head with his little girl's heart.

"How are you?" Raven asked her father, who just smiled at her concern and said "I'm fine…a couple of bruises but that comes with the job."

"I can heal them for you." Raven said with a little bit of worry and the dark knight showed one of his very rare smiles and said "It isn't necessary but, thank you."

After dinner, she said good night to the older heroes and went back to her room with Richard and Roy escorting her as Jason has something to discuss with his mentor. They talked for a while as she reached her room; she bid them good night and went inside the room.

The next day, Raven had gotten up a little later than her usual time which she deemed as her exhaustion because of travelling. They were supposed to meet Dinah for breakfast so she got up and took a relaxing shower and got ready for the day. She blow dried her hair and adorned her holographic ring. She stepped out of her room and walked towards the archer's room; she knew that he must be sleeping.

She smiled as she knocked on his door and rang the bell many times to annoy him. And her smile turned into a smirk when she heard him groan as he opened the door.

"What…is it Raven?" Roy said sleepily as he yawned and rubbed his eyes. Raven blushed a little seeing him only in sweats and his bare, chiselled chest. Roy who was a little more awake opened both of his eyes and saw Raven turning a little pink, he raised an eyebrow and then looked at himself and smirked "Like what you see."

Raven turned pinker and said trying to not look at his chest "In your dreams…come on we have to go for breakfast, Dinah must be waiting for us."

"Oh shoot!" Roy said as he rushed inside his room, suddenly awake and Raven rolled her eyes and invited himself inside the archer's room. She looked at his room and was not surprised to find it neat, Roy was quite organized despite popular belief.

The empath saw him taking his clothes out of the dresser and said "So, I'll see you downstairs." Roy then stilled and looked at her with his un-masked eyes and said feigning sadness "You won't wait for me."

"Roy, you are a sixteen, not a kid…it's not like someone will kidnap you." Raven said rolling her eyes to which Roy said dramatically "How can you be sure of that?"

"Maybe because you are skilled in hand to hand combat." The empath said plainly. Roy gave her his puppy dog eyes which he knew that she wouldn't be able to resist and said "Please wait for me…"

Raven tried to hold her stance and tried not to cave in to the archer but after a few minutes she looked at his wide eyes and sighed "You have ten minutes." Roy just grinned to himself and barely stopped himself from kissing her cheek and ran to the bathroom while Raven made herself comfortable on the couch inside the room.

Soon she saw Roy emerging from the bathroom wearing black denims and a grey, half sleeved t- shirt which stretched across his well-developed torso which Raven had gotten a good look of not half an hour before.

"Finally…you know you take more time than me to get ready." Raven said getting up and walking towards him as he brushed his fiery red locks. "My hair takes time…you know that." He said styling his hair as he looked at the mirror.

"Come on Mr. Vanity." Raven said as she took a hold of the archer's hand and pulled him outside because she knew that if he had his way then he would probably waste an hour making sure his hair looked up to his standards.

Roy barely managed to pull his phone and the key card as Raven dragged him outside, "Rae, my hair!" he whined.

"They look great…now come on." Raven said rolling her eyes, Roy grinned a little at her words and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and this was not uncommon around them so Raven didn't mind or notice. "So I look nice huh?" the archer said leaning towards the empath who for the second time that morning turned red and tried to deny it.

Roy just laughed and his heart swelled a little at the thought that he could make her blush and stutter. They arrived at the breakfast hall and saw Dinah sitting there; she looked like she was waiting for them.

"Sorry we're late…Roy takes a lot of time setting his hair." Raven said as she approached the blonde heroine who just chuckled a little "Its fine I wasn't waiting that long, Oliver also takes more time than me. So I think it must be an archer thing."

"Hey! We are not that bad." Roy protested to which the girls just laughed. They sat down for breakfast, Raven ordered waffles and some fruits for her while he ordered coffee and sandwiches.

"So tell me everything that has happened with you two." Dinah said as she took a bite of her own breakfast.

Raven and Roy filled the blonde heroine on their adventures and their new team. They told her about Cyborg and how he acts like the big brother of the group especially overprotective over Raven, Beastboy who is the jokester and his vegan antics and how he always manages to keep the mood light, and lastly they told her about Starfire, how they met the alien and her curiosity to learn about the earth culture.

"Wow, it seems like they are an interesting lot." Dinah said after their laughs died down a bit. "Yeah, it's nice being on a team." Roy said.

They talked some more and the blonde heroine noted how Roy looked at her mentee when he thought no one was looking, it was longing mixed with adoration and Dinah wondered how did her empathetic pupil miss it, Raven really could be oblivious.

"Okay, so here is the plan for today…Raven you're coming with me because we have to catch up and I need your help with a few things and Roy, you're going with Bruce and Oliver." Both teenagers nodded in consent.

After breakfast Roy was escorting Dinah and Raven to the car, Dinah got in the driver's seat of her black Mercedes and Roy looked at Raven with a small smile and said "I'll see you later."

"Absolutely…bye." Raven said as she walked to the other side of the car and got inside the passenger seat and strapped on her seat belt. They waved at the archer and Dinah drove off.

"So where are we going first?" Raven asked her mentor who just smiled and said "First we are picking up Diana from the airport and then we three are going to the mall, I need to get some last minute things." Raven just nodded and her face remained emotionless.

In the evening, the heroes were getting ready for the bachelor/ bachelorette party; Dinah was out with Diana and other female heroes of the league and her other friends while Oliver was enjoying his last few days as a bachelor with Bruce, Clark, Hal and a few other male heroes of the league.

The protégés were free for the evening so they decided to spend the evening together (Raven was persuaded by Roy as he took her books away and locked them away in the locker in his room so the empath had to attend, he was smirking the whole time as he was not scared by her threats). Jason and Richard wanted to see Star city while Roy and Raven wanted to see the city they hadn't seen in so long.

"Come on Rae, stop pouting." Roy said as he tugged the empath as they walked down a busy and quite famous market street. Jason and Richard chuckled a bit as the empath rolled her eyes and said "You took all my books and threatened to drown them!...and I don't pout."

Richard chuckled and said "I hate to say this but Rae you are pouting." Roy turned to the empath and said "Rae, come on it'll be fun."

"Yeah, sunshine it wouldn't be fun without you." Jason also tried as he came to walk beside the empath who just rolled her eyes at his cheeky grin and then looked at the expectant faces of the young heroes and sighed "Fine."

Roy grimaced a little at the sound of the nickname and when the empath did not protest against it, his frown deepened but he squashed it quickly, but not so quick as Richard had seen it and was amused to see the archer jealous.

"That's the spirit…ooh, come on let's see that stall over there." Roy said as he tugged Raven along with him to a stall which had caught his fancy. Raven just rolled her eyes at his excitement and allowed the archer to lead her.

They explored the market for a while and were heading to the food trucks when Jason caught up with them after disappearing for about twenty minutes. "Where were you Jay?" Richard asked as he sat on a booth while Roy and Raven waited for their order.

The young bat protégé said nothing but gave him a huge grin and sat opposite to his older adoptive brother. After a few minutes the archer and the empath also joined them with boxes in their hands. Raven sat opposite to Jason and beside Richard while Roy took the seat next to Jason.

They made merry conversation while they ate and after they were done Richard and Roy went to dispose of their empty boxes and Jason looked at Raven and said "Well, sunshine I have something for you."

"You didn't need to get me anything." Raven stated. "I know I didn't but I thought it would be perfect for you." Jason said with a smile and revealed a wooden box with intricate carving. "What's this?" Raven asked with curiosity as she appreciated the carving on the box.

"Why don't you open it and find out?" Jason said with a cheeky grin. Raven tried to open the box but it refused to open, she looked at him with confusion in her eyes while he just smiled. She started fidgeting with the box but it refused to open and he chuckled a bit, then after a few minutes she got an idea and fidgeted with the dragon carving on the box and the dragon moved and the box opened.

In a moment's rareness she gave him a huge cheeky grin at accomplishing the task while he was a little shocked. She opened the box and saw a small brass dagger inside wrapped in a red smooth cloth, it was golden with the handle carved with designs. She looked at the dagger with awe and Jason smiled a bit and explained "The shopkeeper said it's from India…and that the people over there think it's lucky. And I thought that you would like it." He said the last part sheepishly and she gave him a smile and said "Thank you, I love it…now I feel bad, if I had known that you were getting me something then I would have also gotten you something and hidden it in my bag."

Raven smiled as she showed him a silver ring which was molded into a lion roaring that had red eyes. She gave it to him and he just stared at the beautiful ring in awe and asked not looking at her "Why? Nobody has ever done something like this for me."

"Jason, I am an empath and I know something about you that you don't." Raven said and he looked at her. "You are a kind and generous soul and you think that you don't deserve much of anything but you do…and in these couple of days you have become a good friend of mine."

Jason didn't say anything but he got up and walked towards her as he donned the ring and bent down to wrap her in a firm and friendly hug, Raven awkward at first at feeling his strong emotions but wrapped her arms around him reluctantly and a little awkwardly. "Thank you Raven."

They didn't know that Richard and Roy were standing there having witnessed the hug, they both had looked like they had swallowed a sour lemon, both were jealous but for different reasons, Roy didn't like the closeness between the new bat protégé and the girl he has loved for long while Richard feared that his position in Raven's life would be taken by his younger brother.

But before he could say anything Raven and Jason parted and had approached them and the thought was pushed back but not completely forgotten as they travelled back to their hotel.

Richard and Jason went to their respective rooms after bidding Roy and Raven a good night. "Well, good night Rae…if anything happens-"

"I will call you." Raven finished with a teasing smile at his over protectiveness and he pouted a little. Ever since the beast incident his protectiveness over her had increased and she teased him but that never stopped him. "Fine, make fun of me…but I just want you to be safe." Roy replied and she gave him a huge smile and said "And I appreciate that a lot." She replied.

He gave her a small smile and turned to go to his own room when she called after him "Roy wait…" He stopped and turned and saw the empath looking a little nervous. He looked at her with his eyebrow raised and asked "What is it Rae?"

She didn't look at him, instead choosing to look at her fidgeting fingers "I just want to thank you for basically forcing me to come tonight…I had fun." She mumbled the last word and he just smiled widely at her nervousness, "Always Rae, always." She finally looked at him with that beautiful smile of hers and those enchanting eyes.

"Good night, I'll see you tomorrow." He said with a grin and she also wished him good night and went inside her room.

He then turned and left for his own room when he heard her door close and the locks being secured in their place. He smiled the entire time; maybe the empath noticed him and maybe felt something for him other than friendship and with that hope in his heart he started planning to confess his feelings to the dark beauty.

0O0

Today was the day, the day they all had been waiting for and the day they had been preparing for. Finally after years of dancing around each other and then dating, Black Canary or Dinah and Green Arrow or Oliver were getting married.

The ceremony was to commence at in just a couple of hours, Roy was adjusting the cufflinks of his black suit with a mauve undershirt as he sat on the couch in Raven's room, waiting for her to emerge from the washroom.

"Come on Rae, I'm not getting any younger out here." Roy whined as he knocked on the door again. "Five minutes, Roy." Raven stated from inside the washroom and there was a slight sound of shuffling, the archer groaned and said "You've been saying that for a while now….Come on."

A couple of minutes ticked back and his patience was running thin, he knocked furiously again and said "Raven! Come out." "Fine!"

The archer heard the sound of the door opening and gave a sigh of relief, he adjusted his bow tie again and turned to look at the dark beauty, but as soon as he saw her his lungs went for a vacation leaving his heart running fast.

The empath was wearing a high low dress, the top half of her dress was cream white with the slightest touch of peach to it, the dress was sleeveless and it wrapped around her neck. The other half of her dress was in rich purple color and the front of her dress ended mid-thigh while the back side of the dress reached till her calves. She was wearing her hologram ring so her hair was black in color and it was pulled over her shoulder. And she had completed her look with light makeup and accessories.

"Can you at least pretend that it looks good?" Raven said as she nervously looked for her heels that she would have to wear today. Her statement snapped the archer out of his thoughts and he looked at the empath with confusion.

How could she not see how breath taking she looked, "What are you saying Rae? You look beautiful." He said honestly and she stilled a bit feeling his awe and honesty wash over her through her empathy. She blushed a little and refused to look at him and quickly put on her shoes. He smiled at seeing the usual stoic girl fluster.

"Come on, we should go." Raven said as she grabbed her phone and her key card, no matter what the occasion she hated carrying bags and she didn't intent to start today. She walked towards the door and he quickly caught up with her while adjusting his suit jacket.

"May I be your date this wonderful evening?" Speedy said with a cheesy grin on his face, as he bowed a little and offered his hand to her, his eyes were hopeful and shining with adoration for the empath. Raven rolled her eyes at his antics but couldn't stop the slight smile emerging on her face.

She placed her hand in his and said "Sure, why not." Speedy straightened up and smiled giving her hand a little squeeze before looping it in with his elbow. The cheesy grin didn't leave his face as he escorted her to the banquet hall with a tiny smile also adorning Raven's face.

The empath couldn't explain it but she felt a sense of comfort around the archer which she didn't around anyone else, maybe it was because they had grown up together, he had stuck with her through everything and when she wanted to step into the real world and do some good he had steeped with her. He told her everything and he understood some things which she didn't even say to anyone.

With that last train of thought, guilt overwhelmed her. She still hadn't confided in him about her destiny; her 16th birthday was approaching and what she had tried all her life to hide would finally come in the light. She knew that she had to tell him soon but she feared his reaction and with that all the courage she had gathered melted away.

Right now as she approached the hall, she shook the thoughts away and tried to focus on the long awaited union of Dinah and Oliver.

0O0

The reception was in full swing, the wedding had gone without a hitch, the heroes were partying hard and the newly married couple never looked happier, there was a closeness between them which reflected their new status as a couple.

Right now Raven was on the edge of the dance floor with a non- alcoholic drink in her hand as she made conversation with some Justice Leaguers she hadn't seen in a long time, namely Superman or Clark and Wonder woman or Diana.

After a while the older heroes excused themselves and Raven turned around and saw Jason standing there with a smile on his face. She raised an eyebrow at him in question while his grin widened and he stepped closer and said "Let's dance."

She shook her head violently "I don't know how to dance." Now it was his turn to raise his eyebrows and he stated "Come on we both know that is not true…you do know how to dance."

She narrowed her eyes at him while he chuckled and said "You are Bruce Wayne's precious daughter…from everything I know about him he must have taught you the basics of dancing if not everything."

She blinked at him and then chuckled and said "You really are observant…aren't you?"

"Just one of my many talents sunshine…so that dance?" he asked again and offered his hand to her which she took in defeat, knowing that he wouldn't let her out of this. He beamed at her and led her to the dance floor and they made good conversation while they danced in a friendly way and with smiles on their faces.

Little did they know that there were three sets of eyes on them. The first was of Bruce Wayne who was looking at his daughter dance with his new son but he also noticed her eyes darting at a certain red head discreetly who was standing a little away from the dance floor with his eldest son, Richard.

Richard and Roy had matching frowns on their faces, something which happened a couple of times this weekend. "Damn it." Roy heard Richard mutter.

"What is it Richie?" Roy asked. "Jason is hogging my sister." Richard muttered without thinking and Roy suddenly laughed, forgetting his own jealousy for a moment and said in a teasing tone "Aww, you are jealous of your sister giving attention to your new brother."

Richard turned a little pink before he smirked and turned to the laughing archer and said "Like you are any better…I saw you glaring at Jason." They both started bickering.

Before Roy could say anything further he felt a hand on his shoulder, he turned and saw Dinah standing there with a smile on her face while Richard was approached by Diana and Hal. Before the red head could say anything the blonde heroine pulled him and he let out a small yelp of surprise. She dragged him to the dance floor and said "Come on, this is a wedding…you should be having fun." She said and urged him to dance with her to which he chuckled and complied with.

"Where's Ollie?" Roy asked to which Dinah chuckled and nodded to the side. Roy turned his head a bit and saw the blonde hero dancing with Raven, with that a fond smile graced his features but it left as soon as it came when he realized that Dinah was looking at him.

But the blonde heroine noticed, "Roy, we all know that you have feelings for Raven." Roy's head shot to look at her with his eyes wide, she chuckled and rolled her eyes as well while saying "Come on Roy…Ollie and I have seen you grow up….we always knew."

"Am I really that obvious?" Roy asked with his face turning the color of his hair. "Only to the ones who know you…so are you gonna tell her?" Dinah asked.

"I want to…but I can't find the right time or the courage to do so." Roy confesses with a sigh, his shoulders drooped down in a dejected way. Dinah looked at him and tried to reassure him "You will know when to confess when the time is right…and don't be scared Roy, from everything I know and understand about Raven, she adores you more than you realize."

"So you approve of…me?" Roy asked in a whisper to which Dinah chuckled and said "Of course I approve of you, Roy."

Roy felt comforted by her words and looked at her and gave her a smile and was about to say something when Dinah grinned mischievously and said "Although you should be scared of Bruce…getting his approval will not be easy." With that color left Roy's face and the older heroine laughed at his scared expression.

Raven was dancing with Oliver and listening while the older hero made some conversation when suddenly the time to change partners came and with graceful moves the blonde hero spun her out and spun Dinah in. Roy's eyes brightened when he saw that his next dance partner was going to be Raven but before he could grasp her hand in his, someone came in between and took the beautiful empath's hand in his.

Roy looked and saw Raven dancing with Bruce, his expression fell a little but he gave a soft smile looking at the empath dance with her father. He silently stepped away and saw her dance with the man she thinks of as a father with rare warmth shining on their faces.

"Did you have to do that?" Raven said as she was pulled into a dance with her father instead of the red headed archer. "Do what? I am simply dancing with my daughter." He replied smugly to which Raven just rolled her eyes but smiled softly.

After a couple of minutes "Rachel, are you okay?" this question caught her off guard and her eyes shot up to meet worried blue eyes of her father's.

Of course he would know if something was bothering her, he was the world greatest detective and he was also her father. He had raised her, as did Dinah but Raven was always much closer to Bruce, she felt that she could relate to him more but that didn't mean that she didn't adore the blonde heroine, her relationship with Dinah was more like that of an sister bond.

Bruce sensing her discomfort gracefully led her outside the reception hall where the wedding took place. Oliver and Dinah had decided on a small wedding, only close friends so mostly the heroes were in attendance which also came with an advantage of them not having to put up a façade and being allowed to be themselves.

They arrived at the huge, decorated garden which was surprisingly empty and the dark knight turned to look at the empath and urged her to lift the weight off her heart, which was troubling her greatly and confide in him.

"I know it's stupid…but I'm scared. My 16th birthday is approaching and he-" Raven choked on her words and tried to calm her emotions before they triggered her powers while Bruce's jaw clenched, he hated the fact that her birth father tormented her so much, made her feel scared and caused her to stay detached from her emotions.

"Raven, hey, nothing will happen to you while I'm here…and don't worry we will handle anything that happens." He tried to reassure her with a soft, comforting voice he just saved for his near and dear ones. She looked at him and nodded softly as she hugged him tightly and said "Thank you dad."

He just smiled and hugged her back, trying to calm her down while whispering comforting words only a father could say; he didn't know from where this was coming from but he followed his fatherly instinct and silently offered her his handkerchief as her chokes slowly died down.

Raven took the offered handkerchief gratefully and wiped the evidence of her breakdown while Bruce tried to change the topic and told her the story of what happened in Gotham in her absence and he also told her the story of how he met Jason. Raven smiled at his efforts and felt lighter also after revealing her worries a bit.

"…I can't believe he stole the tires of the Bat mobile and took a hit at you." Raven said laughing at story of how Jason became a part of the Bat clan and Bruce also smiled remembering those times.

After a while Raven urged Bruce to go back inside and when she saw that her father was a bit reluctant to do so she promised that she would be back in soon. He just nodded and left, he did understand the need to be left alone for a while as he needed to do so as well. Bruce was just happy about the fact that she shared her worry with him and with that he tried to mentally prepare himself for Raven's 16th birthday and tried to formulate plans at how he could protect her.

Raven stood at the edge to the garden, leaning over the railing and looking over the river with light breezes ruffling her hair and gently touching her face and running away. In that moment she hoped that the breeze could also take her troubles away and for a moment she felt that it was possible, for a few fleeting moments she felt light as if the weight of the world was lifted from her shoulders and she had a chance to live freely.

She closed her eyes and savoured the moment as goose bumps erupted on her bare arms and a little shiver ran down her spine but she didn't want to go back inside just yet, but the cold was ruining her plans and she was just about to go back inside when warmth engulfed her and she looked down and saw a black jacket reaching till a little inches below her waist.

"I knew that I would find you here." Before Raven could turn she found Roy's deep alluring voice say from behind her. She smiled and looked over her shoulder. There he was standing in his undershirt with a smile on his face and a blend of nervousness and adoration shining in his eyes.

"Hello Roy." Raven said as he stepped to stand beside her and copy her posture and lean over the railing and look at the river. "What are you doing out here, Rae?" Roy asked because of her disappearance from the party.

She sighed with a soft serene expression, "Just needed some time to gather my thoughts." He nodded and they stayed in this comfortable silence and the presence of one another.

"It's beautiful here, isn't it?" Raven said with a voice just above a whisper but Roy heard it; he always managed to hear her. His eyes locked onto her and he could feel his heart swell with the affection he had for her. He just looked at her in this beautiful setting with her looking so serene and her petite frame being hidden by _his _jacket. He could turn his eyes away and said with softness in his words "It really is."

Raven turned to look at him and he didn't look away; their eyes locked and both of them could feel a colorful spark erupting through them. They could move their gazes from each other.

It seemed like somebody else had taken control of Roy's body as he extended his hand and said "You still haven't danced with me."

Raven smiled and said "No, I haven't." she softly placed her hand in his large ones knowing that he wouldn't let her out of this and he pulled her towards him. slow music playing in the reception hall could be heard outside, somebody maybe left the door open and Roy thanked all his lucky stars that they did.

Roy and Raven slow danced, their gazes locked firmly at each other with their bodies moving in sync. In this moment they weren't heroes who risked their lives every day for unknowing people but they were two teenagers filled with affection for each other and just savouring this moment knowing that there wasn't any place else they would rather be than here in each other's arms.


	11. Chapter 11

**_Assume Standard Disclaimer_**

**_Re-Written Version_**

**Episode- Titans East- 1 and 2**

"When there's trouble you know what to do…call Cyborg!" Cyborg was driving and singing the titan theme song when suddenly he was interrupted by a call from their teammates in Jump city. Cyborg being in a jovial mood spoke to Robin, Starfire, Beastboy and Raven cheerfully while his travel partner, Speedy was feigning sleep in the passenger seat to avoid conversing and was doing a good job at it.

"How's Speedy?" Beastboy asked and Cyborg chuckled as he said "He has been asleep since I got behind the wheel."

Everyone laughed except for the dark beauty who was longing to speak to the archer or even feeling him be nearby would be enough but after what happened it was understood that he would need time.

_It had been four days since Robin, Raven and Speedy returned from Star city after attending the wedding of Green Arrow and Black Canary. _

_Raven was meditating on the roof, enjoying the peace and tranquillity of the time before dawn while all her friends slept soundly or so she thought as the peace was disrupted by the noise of the door opening, she turned to see who it was and was very surprised to see Speedy walk towards her after closing the door behind him._

_He gave her a huge warm smile and she gave him a small smile with confusion shining in her eyes. He walked past her and sat on the edge of the roof, legs dangling of the edge and waiting for her to join him. After a few minutes he heard her sigh and he could imagine that she was shaking her head a little as she took her place on his left side, copying his posture. They sat together in silence, neither of them saying anything._

_Raven knew that it was frustrating him to no end that she wasn't asking why he was up so early as Speedy was only beaten by Beastboy in terms of sleeping till late. And Raven was having fun troubling him, she knew that in a couple of minutes if he hadn't spoken up she would give in and ask him or else the boy would probably burst from his frustration._

"_So what are you doing up so early?" Raven said with a smirk when she heard her red headed companion sigh sheepishly and with a bit of relief but he shocked her with his reply "Just wanted to spend time with you before the whole tower wakes up." _

_Raven nodded offering to not press the matter and they sat in silence for a while but the purple haired beauty could feel his nervousness over something. She waited for him to tell her as he usually did when something troubled him. _

"…_Can I ask you something Raven?" Speedy said and the purple haired beauty knew that he was serious as he called her by her full name when he was serious, very serious. She hummed in response and he took a deep breath and said "Don't you want something more?" _

_She turned to look at him, being caught off guard by his question and after a couple moments of silence she asked "More?"_

"_..As in more from our friendship." Speedy clarified and looked at Raven, her breath got caught in her chest as she took in his serious but serene expression. _

_He added after a couple of moments when she didn't say anything "We have known each other for a long time Raven, and there is something I have wanted to tell you…*he takes a deep breath and looks into her eyes* We have known each other our entire lives, and there is no one else I would have rather spent all this time with. I love talking to you, hearing your amazing sarcasm and seeing your smile; most of all I love being the reason for your smile, I guess what I am trying to say is that…I-I have feelings for you Raven. Which are much deeper than any friendship."_

_Raven didn't know what to say. One part of her was doing a happy dance inside her while another part, a bigger part of her was telling her to tell him that in a few months her demon father would ascend and she would most likely be lost in the depths of hell. But how does one tell their best friend, someone who has stuck by them through all the years, someone for whom she has feelings for and someone who reciprocates them as well that she is going to probably end the world. _

_She cannot. _

_So she stayed silent._

_Her heart clenched when disappointment takes over the usually happy archer and her heart breaks in half when she sees him taking rejection in and she mentally slaps herself when she sees him leave in sadness but she knew that she could tell him but she didn't know he would react._

_And most of all she didn't want to worry him, she wanted his last few months spent happily, she needed to see him happy before everything happens, before her destiny gets fulfilled. _

They both became a little distant after that morning, Raven died every moment she saw his sadness but she couldn't say anything. They stopped having breakfast together, playing chess together and all interaction almost died between them. Roy also needed some distance so when the opportunity came to travel and put some actual distance between Raven and him.

_Some time away from home will be good for you._

Cyborg offered after asking the archer the reason for his sadness but to no avail, the red head could be mysterious if he wanted to. So Cyborg came up with the best solution he could at that moment, taking Speedy to the east coast.

After a while they ended the call when Cyborg said that they almost reached the new Titan's tower. Speedy feigned a yawn when the metallic man shook him awake, also trying to mask the sadness which hadn't left his heart since that morning when the dark beauty rejected him.

They entered the tower, as they door had not been installed. Cyborg looked at his friend and saw the lingering sadness on the archer's usual cheerful and jovial personality which he was so desperately trying to mask but after being friends for such a period the metallic man could detect it but he didn't say anything, hoping that Speedy would talk to him on his own.

They walked inside the unfinished tower and Cyborg remarked "The place looked better on the outside…but it's nothing a little elbow grease cannot fix." As they were walking forward a small box exploded and after few moments of them staring at the burnt desk, to the metallic man's surprise the red head remarked "Make that a truck load of elbow grease."

Cyborg laughed and the two titans headed inside the room where they could hear the voices of the other heroes. They entered and saw a couple of take-out bags on the table with Aqualad fighting with the heroes they know to be Mas and Menos, and Bee trying to solve the fight.

"Hey Sparky, Arrow boy welcome to the happy train." Bee greeted and two newcomers rolled their eyes at the names she had given them and all the eyes turned to them. Mas and Menos speeded their way over to the newcomers and started saying something in Spanish and Speedy stated after the twins had speeded of somewhere else. "Okay, I didn't understand one bit of that."

"Yeah, they are like that." Said an all too familiar voice of Aqualad, the archer frowned a little at seeing the aquatic prince. Their last encounter had left him a little sour with jealousy after seeing the empath swoon over him and with that last train of thought the archer thought over her words.

_No one can take your place Roy; you will always be my best friend…my closest companion._

Maybe that's all he will be to her, her best friend and her closest companion; and with time he will come to terms with that. Maybe in time he will be okay with just being her best friend and to become that he would have to speak to her as soon as he gets back, make her understand that he only wishes for her happiness even if he isn't the one making her happy. Hopefully the ache in his heart would have lessened by the time-

"So how are Raven and Starfire?" Aqualad asked interrupting archer's thoughts.

Okay, it will take a little more time, Speedy thought as jealousy flared up in him again after seeing the twinkle Aqualad's eyes as he spoke to the metallic man about the dark beauty. Before Speedy could say anything, a machine busted open and Bee said shoving a drill in the red head's hand "A little help?"

With Cyborg's guidance and direction the team started to work, and slowly Speedy's mind was focused on the task in hand. There were many fights in between because of the lack of coordination between the heroes and after an almost defeat, Cyborg took charge and rallied all the titans into a team, expressing his dormant leadership qualities.

Needless to say after the heroes started working like a team, the tower was starting to come together quickly and easily with them using their powers easily and in sync with each other.

"Well how 'bout that…we actually finished." Bee said as the heroes looked at the w=view from their newly finished titan tower.

"The place doesn't look half bad." Speedy said with a smile as he crossed his arms over his chest and looked at the peaceful scene in front of him which reminded him of Raven.

He remembered how much she loves the quiet, the light serene sounds of nature untouched by humans and how much _he _loves to look at her peaceful expression, her beautiful amethyst eyes closed, no crease on her eyebrows and a light rare smile on her pink lips. Speedy shook his head, trying to shake the thoughts away and took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

He was brought back to reality with Mas and Menos saying something excitedly in Spanish. He sighed lowly and focused on the heroes in front of him.

"We couldn't have done it without you…thanks." Aqualad said to Speedy and Cyborg, the heroes smiled when Cyborg suddenly exclaimed "Oh, I almost forgot." And tapped a few buttons on his arm and the lights dimmed and disco lights started to shine.

"Disco lights?!" Bee exclaimed. "Yeah, Robin wouldn't let him install them in our tower." Speedy explained. "Well, what are you all waiting for….it's party time!" Cyborg exclaimed throwing his hands up in an excited manner and all the titans cheered.

Aqualad made a jump in the indoor pool, Bee was dancing and Speedy also started to have fun. Cyborg was playing video games with Mas and Menos when suddenly the metallic man got a call from their fearless leader, who took an update on the condition of the new tower and when Cyborg told him that everything went great so in turn he asked him and the archer to return home.

Cyborg was being offered the position of the leader of the titan's east and Speedy was being offered a position on the team. It was a tantalizing offer for both of them as by this the metallic man would get to lead his own team and thus, exercise his dormant leadership skills while Speedy would get some space from the dark beauty.

After the attack of brother blood, the team was working to repair the damages done to the newly built tower. Robin was trying to talk to Cyborg and try to change his mind while Raven was pacing in her room.

The thought of being separated from the archer for too long was too much for her to fathom, she knew that it was her fault for him wanting to transfer to another team. If only she had told him the entire truth then maybe he wouldn't move away from Jump city, from her.

Even if nothing happens between them romantically, he has been her best friend throughout her life, he was her first friend and he had stuck by her through thick and thin, followed her when she wanted to become independent and had never judged her for her heritage. He always supported her and she owes him the truth, if only for the sake of their friendship.

Raven knows that she must speak to him; she has to tell him the entire truth about her destiny and her feelings as well, only a couple of months are left for her 16th birthday and these might be the last few months she has. With that her mind drifted over to the last conversation they had.

_With a new determination after a few days of their departure Raven had dialled Speedy's number through her communicator and waited. Her hands shook a little and after a few rings Speedy's face was displayed on the screen. _

_His face mirrored the rare emotions being displayed on the empath's face longing, pain and hope. "Raven..." The archer said lowly._

"_Roy, I-I…need to speak to you." Raven said with a deep breath. And the red head inhaled sharply and said "Raven, I-I just need some more time." His voice broke and before the dark beauty could do anything he ended the call. _

_Speedy tossed the communicator aside and buried his face in his hands with sadness and pain as he blamed himself for this distance between them, if only he hadn't confessed to her then maybe they would still be enjoying each other's company. Not knowing was so much better than rejection._

_While the empath let a few tears fall, because she had done this. She didn't have the strength to tell him the truth and now she had potentially lost her best friend and the one she loves. She knew that she had to tell him and that too soon, and if she was lucky then he would understand her and forgive her. _

All the members of titan east and Speedy were brainwashed by Brother Blood and in his control, they were holding Cyborg in captive and by the villain's orders they were about to attack Cyborg whose body was bound by metal strips when suddenly there was a crash and Robin, Beastboy, Starfire and Raven appeared.

Speedy's eyes were red showing the control of Brother blood but when he looked into certain amethyst orbs which he knew so well, he eyes turned orange, almost yellow for a second but then turned back to red. Seeing this hope flickered in the empath's heart.

While the rest of the team was in attacking position and threatening the villain to release the heroes from mind control when Brother Blood attacked them with a red beam and suddenly him and the mind controlled heroes vanished with him and the titans were enclosed by metal doors.

They freed Cyborg and they discussed battle strategies.

"I put this place in, I can tear it apart." Cyborg said and with that he told the team what he knew about the tower and they started opening a chunk of the floor when Raven turned to her metallic self-proclaimed brother with a worried expression, silently asking him about the archer.

Cyborg understood the look well and placed a comforting hand on the half demon's shoulder, silently telling her that everything will be fine and that they would bring him back. He knew about her feelings for the red head and that her feelings were reciprocated also by the archer.

Raven took a deep breath and reluctantly nodded at him; and the two titans took their positions by their leader's commands.

The titans with stealth and using the rays reached where blood had the heroes strapped to metal tables and was looking at them menacingly.

Cyborg attacked the villain and he in a wicked move freed the brain washed titans to fight against their fellow heroes and friends. Robin dodged the arrows of the archer while coming back and attacking him, with Starfire fighting Bee in air, Raven and Beastboy trying to fight the speedster twins and Cyborg attempting to punch the aquatic prince.

After disarming Speedy from his bow, punching Aqualad in the face and effectively knocking him down, separating the speedster twins and neutralizing bee as the product of effective and efficient group effort. Brother blood suddenly emerged and vanished with Cyborg while the hypnotized titans stood up, ready for a fight again.

Beastboy was fighting Mas and Menos, while Starfire was fighting with Bee again in the sky and Robin was battling Aqualad which left the archer and the half demon to battle.

Raven casted a shield to protect herself from the archer's explosive arrows, she took defensive stance as he tried to attack her with his bow, she held the bow in her hands as she took in the expression of her dear friend, eyebrows furrowed and lips in a deep snarl.

Raven suddenly pushed him back with her magic and he stumbled back, with no second to lose she knocked him down by swiping her legs. A memory sparked in both of their brains, how they used to fight under the supervision of Black Canary when they were nine years old.

Suddenly the archer got back to his feet and shook his head, the red glowing in his eyes and he started attacking the empath but not actually hurting her till they reached an isolated corner of the room; other's busy in their fights. Something inside told him that no matter what, he couldn't hurt the person in front of him.

"Speedy…listen to me." Raven tried while blocking the archer's blows. The red haired hero paid no attention to her words and focused to attacking her only, fighting the urge to look at the one with such calm and familiar voice, a voice he adored so much.

"Roy." Raven tried gently looking the archer as she caught one of his arms with her magic as his back hit the wall. "Roy, look at me." She tried again and gently cupped his face in her soft hands. She gazed in his bright red eyes and pressed their foreheads together and said "Roy, this isn't you…come back, come back to me." She closed her eyes and felt him do the same.

Roy wanted to fight this, this familiar and loving feeling in his chest which confused his senses, the orders given to him to stop the titan in front of him. But there was an ache in his chest which he couldn't understand; but then he felt soft and too familiar hands on his face and a gentle voice calling to him like a siren's alluring call. And Speedy found himself helpless to follow the voice which appeared as a ray of light, putting everything in perspective and guiding him out of the dark, allowing himself to trust his feelings.

With that intimate touch of Raven pressing her forehead to his and those few words spoken to him with such an overwhelming emotion, which Roy could only describe as love, finally broke the hypnosis and he opened his eyes which were no longer red but their usual masked, he took a deep breath seeing the empath's face so close to his and her eyes closed.

Raven heard the hitch in his breathing and her eyelashes fluttered open and she was met with the usual mask of the archer and not the bright red glowing eyes of him, she leaned back a little but her hands did not leave their position of his face.

She kept looking at him and he stared at her, confused when she didn't pull her hands back. But he was grateful for that and he absentmindedly leaned into her touch which caused her to pull back as put some space between them.

Thinking that he made her uncomfortable, Speedy did the first thing that came into his mind, he took a step forwards and said "Rae, I'm sorr-"

But he was interrupted by the empath bolting towards him and capturing the archer in a tight hug, her arms wound around his neck and she buried her face in the crook of his neck. The impact of the hug caused him to take a few a steps back to steady himself and he was frozen for a couple of moments but when his senses returned he wound his hands tightly around the empath's waist. "I missed you." She muttered in his neck and in response he tightened his arms around her and buried his face in her neck, her hood had long fallen during their battle.

They stayed in that strong hug for a while relishing in each other when Raven slowly broke apart from him but didn't put too much distance between them. Raven had one of her hand's caressing his right cheek and he still had a hold on her waist. They both leaned in absentmindedly but before anything could happen and a loud crash echoed in the background and the two heroes jumped apart.

A battle was still going on, and the two heroes took part in it. The intimate moment not forgotten by them, they would discuss it later.

In the end, Cyborg defeated Brother Blood and the titans east were freed from their mind control. Bee was named the leader of the titans east and the heroes were getting to know each other before the titans would leave for their tower in Jump city.

Raven saw the absence of the archer and politely excused herself, she found him on the roof of the tower, and he was looking at the beautiful scenery which perhaps only Steel city could offer, with his back towards the door. She knew that he heard her come up but made no indication of acknowledging it.

"Speedy, what are you here alone?" Raven said after taking a deep breath to calm her nerves and walked so that she was standing in line with him, she chanced looking at him and it felt like he was frozen, his face was blank and posture stiff.

"I thought staying alone was more my thing." She tried joking but he didn't even move a muscle. Now she got worried and placed a hand on his shoulder and said turning to look at him "What's wrong, Roy?"

With the mention of his real name, the archer turned to look at the empath. His lips pursed in a thin line and Raven noticed that his beautiful emerald eyes were not covered by the domino mask, which just made his gaze on her more unrelenting.

"You can't do that Raven." The red head said so softly that if Raven was not standing so close to him then she probably would have missed it. "You can't pretend that it didn't happen." He added in a voice just above a whisper.

"Roy, I-"

"No! you can't pretend that everything is okay between, because it is not…I'm okay with you rejecting me, I can't pretend that it-t d-doesn't hurt because it hurt so damn much…but *he takes a deep breath, calming his nerves*…I can't force you to feel something that you don't. Just don't give me false hope…I-I don't t-think I can take it." Speedy interrupted her, expressing his bottled feelings to her in a yell.

Raven's eyes turned glassy, feeling how much she had caused him through her empathy and walked towards him. During his speech he had turned away from her and walked towards the other end of the roof.

"Roy, I didn't mean to hurt you." She started and grabbed his bicep to turn him to look at her. His eyes mirroring her own glossy ones; they were filled with longing and pain. "There is something, I-I never told you." She added.

They stayed silent for a couple of moments; the empath was working the courage to tell him when suddenly the red head spoke up "Do you have feelings for someone else?"

"What?" Raven asked shocked, she looked at him and his face was turned away from her but he didn't move back, he just avoided looking at her.

"Do you have feelings for someone else? Is that why you rejected me?"

"Roy, listen-" Raven tried to say something but was interrupted by his rant.

"Because if you do its okay, I….I just want you to be happy, and if you are happy with him then don't hold because of m-"

He was interrupted by Raven pinching his nose hard, cutting off his air circulation and he exclaimed looking at her serious expression "Oww! What did you do that for?"

"I have your attention now…good." Raven said looking at him with such a glare that reminded the archer to Batman, a shiver ran down his spine and he stayed silent, hearing what she had to say.

"Roy, I don't have feelings for anyone else…" Raven said and took a pause to take a deep breath, silently grateful that the archer stayed silent.

"There is something I never told you…I was sired to become a portal for my father so that he could ascend to earth and conquer this dimension."

Before she could say anything further, Roy grabbed her hands and held them close to him and said "Raven, I know that and I already told you that your destiny doesn't define you and it sure as hell doesn't make me see you in a different way…we can and will defeat him."

Raven smiled at him but it was a little sad for what she was about to reveal next but she was also happy because of his words and she said very softly "Roy, my destiny is to become the portal so if my father ascends to earth I would have fulfilled my destiny…I-I would cease to exist on the mortal realm."

The weight of her truth hung between them, as he let it sink in. He dropped her hands which he was holding near his heart and stumbled back, the truth becoming too much for him to handle.

No, this couldn't happen. Raven couldn't die, he could live with her not loving him but not with her not existing in the world, because of a simple fact _she was his world._ And she had been since when they had met when he was eight years old.

"No, no you c-can't…Raven y-you can't." Speedy said looking at the dark beauty's face hoping for any indication that what she was saying isn't true. He took a few more steps back until he was met with the wall of the roof and he slid down, suddenly his legs became incapable of holding his weight.

Raven rushed to him and hugged him in kneeling position, his arms wrapping around her tightly as he silently cried. He kept on muttering that she couldn't leave him and Raven did her best to soothe him by caressing his red locks, holding her close to him and letting him cry on her shoulder.

Suddenly something sparked in Roy's brain and he separated from her and said "Y-you said that you would cease to exist on the mortal realm…that means that you will be alive but not be present here…we could bring you back. We will bring you back."

She gave a sad smile to him and said "Roy, it's not so simple." He shook his head and said stubbornly "No matter what, I will bring you back…I need you beside me."

"Roy, please don't spend this time worrying about me…I don't want you worrying about me, you should leave me…I am not worth it." Raven said finally breaking down into tears, everything finally weighing down on her.

Now the archer got angry, his face turned into a scowl, his eyebrows furrowed and he grabbed the empath by her upper arms and said with anger coursing through his being "How can you say that Raven?! Not worth it?!...I am sorry to burst your bubble but you are Raven Roth- Lance, a half demon, one of the most powerful mystics, a very strong empath and a kickass chess player."

He took a deep breath and said in a strong voice while cupping her face in his sturdy, calloused hands "You were adopted by Batman; trained by Black Canary, you were taught magic by Doctor Fate and telekinesis by Martian Manhunter the entire Justice League adores you…

…. you have friends here who are ready to fight for you Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Beastboy and _me_…how can you think that you are not worth it Raven…..you don't have to do everything by yourself, I am here and I care for you so much, and you just have to give me a chance to show you how much."

He pressed their foreheads together but Raven quickly freed herself from his grasp, a panicked and pained expression on her face which she tried to conceal but Speedy had mastered the art of understanding Raven's facial expressions.

"What happened Raven?" Roy asked softly as he took a few cautious steps towards her.

"You can't get attached to me anymore than you already are." She said frantically.

"Why not, Rae? Why are you running from me now?" his pained voice said, desperately trying to understand why she was pushing him away from her.

"I don't know what will happen on my 16th birthday, but if it doesn't go in our favour and-….I can't let you go through so much pain." His heart was slowly breaking with her words.

They were silent for a couple of minutes when the archer broke the silence and asked taking a few steps towards the empath "I just need to know one thing…Do you have feelings for me?"

"Why a-are you asking me this, Roy?" Raven asked nervously.

"Just answer this question truthfully and I won't try to change you decision, I promise…please just tell me." He said almost reaching her.

Raven took a deep breath and shifted her gaze to meet with the archer's beautiful emerald eyes. He was standing just a breath away and for the first time Raven noticed that there were a few golden specks in his emerald orbs; and she realized that she wants to see those green orbs every day as the first thing when she wakes up and the last thing before she sleeps.

Lost in his eyes her answer flowed without her permission "Yes, I do have feelings for you." A huge grin spread on the red head's face as he let out the breath he didn't even know he was holding.

He could see the question in her eyes for him asking her this question so he answered the unasked question "This is the strength and hope that I needed to make sure that everything goes in our favour…and I will make sure that it does. The world can't end before I can ask out for a date, before we get any time together."

A few tears escaped Raven's eyes as she looked the loving expression on the archer's face. He gently shushed her and brushed her tears away with his thumbs and brought her into a hug.

"_I'll hold you in my heart till I can hold you in arms_." Speedy murmured in her hair and she just hugged him tighter to her and placed a kiss on his cheek.

Both of them happy that things got cleared between them and ecstatic because the other reciprocated their feelings and hopeful that the events that would unravel in the future would be in their favour.


	12. Chapter 12

**_Assume Standard Disclaimer_**

**_Re-Written Version_**

**Episode- Birthmark**

It had been weeks since the titans had returned from their counterparts on the east coast. Slowly things had returned to normal within the tower. After their talk, Raven and Speedy had a new closeness about them which nobody could pinpoint but also couldn't deny.

Raven was still a little apprehensive about getting to close to the archer but couldn't deny herself that she liked having him near her all the time. And Speedy, he displayed his affections for the dark beauty in every subtle way he could.

They both were also avoiding the fact that Raven's father may ascend to earth which could ultimately cause her to disappear into some other realm. Speedy avoided this topic mostly because of the heartache it caused him at the thought of potentially losing the mystic forever, so he stopped thinking about it.

But then he learned that he couldn't avoid the topic forever.

It all started when the team had just caught Doctor Light before he could put his evil plans in motion. After the fight, Cyborg had proposed a plan for the team to go for donuts as it was almost mid night. Speedy looked at Raven knowing that in a couple of minutes it would be her 16th birthday, a day which she detested so much that she didn't reveal her birthday to the team.

Raven looked at Speedy, her face was blank but her eyes gave away her feelings, they were filled with panic and dread; but before the archer could say anything she turned away from them and said "I'll see you back at the tower."

"But Raven-" Robin started, a little confused by her behaviour. Normally she would accompany the team even if they went to the pizza place at two in the morning, after a fight. So her leaving was unusual to him as he didn't know about the prophesy and the fact that tomorrow was her birthday did not strike with him.

The team was trying to convince her to accompany them and get donuts when she said in her normal monotone, not looking at them properly "I just want to get home before tomorrow comes." With that she summoned her magic and flew back to the tower.

"What's so special about tomorrow?" Beastboy wondered out loud, while scratching his head. When he suddenly looked at Speedy who was looking at where Raven stood a few minutes prior with concern displaying on his face.

"Dude, do you know what's tomorrow?" Beastboy said as he walked towards the archer, who crossed his arms over his chest and looked at the shape shifter with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh, why will I know what's tomorrow?" Speedy asked the shape shifter, trying to control the situation.

"Maybe because you know everything about Raven." Cyborg stated as he walked towards them. With that Starfire and Robin also joined them, very much intrigued.

"Pphsht….I don't know everything about her." Speedy denied his cheeks a little pink.

"It is true friend Speedy." Starfire started, "you know most about friend Raven." Speedy was still unconvinced even if the thought of knowing the dark beauty the best gave his stomach flips, good flips. He didn't show it.

"Well, if you don't know her so well, then you will not know her favourite book also I guess." Cyborg said trying to trap Speedy, knowing that he cannot walk away from a challenge and grinned when he heard Speedy walk into his trap.

"Ha, she doesn't have one favourite book. She likes many books like Wuthering heights, Gone with the- …." Speedy paused when he saw the cheeky grins of Cyborg and Beastboy. He sighed, his cheeks turning pink and said "Okay, what's your point? I have known Raven since I was eight years old… So, I may know a few things about her."

"Well, then you will also know what is tomorrow." To their surprise it was Robin who spoke up, nobody but Speedy saw his ticked jaw a clear sign of his anger; Speedy knew about his feelings for Raven and he just hoped that their old friendship wouldn't be damaged because they couldn't handle this delicate situation carefully.

"Okay…tomorrow is…Raven's birthday." Speedy stated and when he saw their shocked faces and looked like they were about to say something he added "And before you all say anything she didn't tell anyone because she doesn't like her birthday and doesn't like celebrating it either."

After a few minutes of them processing this news and them cursing themselves for not even wondering about the dark beauty's birthday, Beastboy broke the silence by saying "We should change that…everyone should celebrate their birthday." The team agreed with him and looked at Speedy expectantly.

He sighed and contemplated inside his head, he knew that one hand Raven doesn't like her birthday but on the other hand she could use this opportunity to divert her mind for a bit and relax for a bit. Yeah, the idea isn't so bad. The archer smiled at his friends and said "Well what are we waiting for? We have a party to plan."

O0O

Raven was sitting in her room, staring at her clock, waiting for the day to get over even before it began. It was eight in the morning, the dark beauty sighed and set the clock aside 'Only 16 more hours to go' she thought as she lay on her bed when she suddenly heard a loud thump. Her heart jumped at the sound, and not in a good way; her panic started to grow which caused a few objects in her room including the clock she was staring at float in air.

The dark beauty sighed and took some calming breaths, and the things dropped on the carpeted floor with minimal noise. She took another deep breath before stepping out of the safety of her room and followed the noise.

The empath was in the hallway leading to the Ops room, knowing that that's where she'll find her teammates. She was nearing the room when suddenly her vision was obscured by two very warm and familiar hands and a voice whispering in her ear "Guess who?"

"Who..?" Raven panicked at instinct but it subsided when she heard her captor chuckle and she let his warm aura sweep over her. She pulled away from him and turned to look at the red head. She gave him her most unimpressed look and said in an annoyed voice "What are you doing Speedy?"

Instead of answering her question, he surprised her by engulfing her in a hug and muttered in her ear "Happy Birthday Rae." He placed a loving but longing kiss at the corner of her mouth and she wrapped her arms around him to. His emotions overwhelming her with the added stress of the day making her eyes glossy.

She sniffled, finally everything caught up to her, the stress of the day, fear of her friend's reaction to her heritage and the biggest fear being that of their safety; causing the archer to get worried; he pulled back and cradled her face in his hands. "What happened Rae?" he asked in a concerned voice.

"It's just…..I-I'm scared Roy." Raven admitted to him in a voice so vulnerable that it broke Speedy's heart, this was so unlike the Raven he knew and loved. The red head brushed the few tears that escaped her eyes and kissed her forehead, just above her jewel and tried to assure her "Rae, everything will be alright…I'm here…I'm always here for you."

He hugged her again, resting his chin on her head and rubbing her back reassuringly till her sobs stopped. He pulled back and gave her a cheeky grin while she rubbed her eyes, erasing all evidence of her breakdown "Come on let's go inside…there is a surprise waiting for you."

She looked at him, dead in the eyes and said "Roy Harper- Queen did you or did you not tell the team about today being my birthday?"

He gave her his best I-am-innocent face and said sheepishly "Well, last night after you left, they asked me why today was a big deal for you…to which I denied to knowing completely but then they pestered me until I gave in…and so here we are."

She looked at him blankly for a minute and said in her monotone which sent chills down his spine "I will get you back for this."

Speedy chuckled nervously and tugged at the collar of his uniform, well knowing how devious the empath could be when she wanted to be. "C-come on Rae, let's go inside." He said trying to divert her mind.

Her eyes held amusement at his nervousness which relieved the archer a bit of his worry and he smiled when she took a deep breath and started walking towards where their friends were waiting for them.

He knew that today would be difficult and tiresome for her and no matter how much he is worried, he would have to contain his emotions for her. In this moment when she is vulnerable he has to be strong and remind her that everything is not lost. And he would do his best.

The doors opened with a swish, the lights were off. Raven looked around and was about to say something when suddenly the lights opened with a loud "Surprise!" Raven looked at the now lit up room and saw confetti and balloons flying, a big banner with 'Happy Birthday' tied up and the smiling and excited faces of her friends.

Raven flinched a little and took a step back in surprise but Speedy steadied her, he squeezed her shoulder comfortingly making her look at him; he gave her a encouraging smile before stepping away and standing near the team.

Suddenly Raven had a vision; everything around her was on fire even her friends were missing.

_What you have concealed you shall become_ a voice said in such a grave tone that it sent shivers up the empath's spine. Her face was contorted into one of panic as she looked around, trying to locate someone, anyone but all she could was what was hellfire, there to consume her whole.

_You have no other choice…your destiny will become fulfilled _the voice added to her torment and her panic worsened. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to hold herself together when suddenly fire fell from above, it drew a specific symbol; one that Doctor Fate had told her was _his _symbol and the voice was also his when it added _The portal must be opened. _

Raven closed her eyes and screamed "NO!" when she felt the fire consume her and the vision she used to have as a child return, of Trigon and the destruction he will cause on earth. She suddenly opened her eyes taking huge gulps of air. She looked around seeing no fire, just the decorated Ops room and the very much concerned faces of her teammates.

"Raven, are you okay?" Robin asked with a panicked expression on his face as he walked closer to the mystic. The others also looked like they were about to say something when the alarm sounded and all but one's attention diverted towards it.

Speedy was just staring at the empath and wondering what he should do to comfort her with panic and fear also rising inside him when Robin said in a serious voice "Trouble."

With that the team arrived at an abandoned warehouse after a silent and serious journey. They all wanted to know what had shaken up their friend who was also one of the strongest members of the team but at the same time they had to be prepared for the upcoming fight.

They explored the abandoned warehouse when suddenly they were met with a voice they wished that they never had to hear again.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it titans? A month, a year, millennia? Far too long for my tastes anyway."

Everyone was shocked; they had been witness to Terra defeating Slade but with the cost of her being turned into a statue. It was difficult day for them, losing a friend was not easy but now it seemed like her sacrifice had gone to waste with Slade still being alive.

"I was beginning to think that I would never see your smiling faces again." Slade said turning to look at the frozen titans, they were still trying to understand how the villain was alive. They all suddenly snapped out of it and started questioning him with Robin threatening him.

When suddenly a blood red mark illuminated on the villain's forehead which made Raven gasp, it was the mark of her father. Suddenly everything made sense to her, Trigon had resurrected Slade. And her belief was confirmed when Slade said "That's precious Robin, but I didn't come back for you."

For some reason Speedy's eyes snapped over to Raven and they made eye contact, conveying all their thoughts through a single look, before he could anything suddenly fire came to life on his palms and started attacking them with it, everyone was trying to dodge his new powers. There was a lot of confusion and shock in the team while Raven was being filled up with dread; when Robin gave his infamous battle cry and everyone was off to fight the villain.

The team started to fight the villain but it seemed like he was immune to all their attacks. Raven was standing over an unconscious Cyborg and she said with fear "I just want this day to end."

A shiver racked through the normally stoic titan when she heard Slade say from behind her "I think we both know that this day is far from over." She took a step back from him and he said in a creepily sweet voice "Hello birthday girl, ready for your present?"

Raven suddenly summoned her powers and attacked him using the element of surprise, she thought that he was gone and took a deep breath. But the reprieve was ended short when she saw his body outline emerge from the smoke and heard in a grave, husky voice "I have a message for you."

The empath tried to attack him again; the key word being tried as he gripped her arm and siphoned her powers and energy from her causing her to whine out in pain and let her go plummeting down on the ground. Raven slowly got up and felt a burning sensation on where she had been touched by the masked villain; she looked at her arm and saw Trigon's mark on it. With Slade summoning the energy and stating "It has begun."

The energy he summoned was causing the warehouse to collapse; if the warehouse did collapse it would cause her friends to be crushed with it. Raven looked around and saw her teammates trying to protect themselves but it was of no avail, as the things started to fall on them. Raven closed her eyes and chanted her mantra only to find a way to protect her friends, she used all her powers for it and opened her eyes when she couldn't hear the falling building anymore.

Everything came to a standstill, she looked around and came to a realization; to protect her friends she had frozen time. The empath wrapped her arms around herself and wondered how she could even do this but before she could think or do anything she heard Slade; his words fell deaf to his ears as her blood ran cold, she thought he was frozen and now with his focus on her, her eyes were wide with fear and she was almost shaking, wondering how she could still stand after all the events that transpired today.

"How did I…?" Raven asked herself and then she heard it, the voice that she thought was frozen "You may be able to stop time birthday girl…but you can't stop me."

A yellow glow outlined Slade as he was freed from Raven's spell and he started walking towards the empath who took a step back in fear.

"You can't stop any of it really….I have to say Raven, when I found out the truth I was very impressed…"

Raven cowered back in fear as the villain added "All this time, I had no idea of this power lurking inside you…the glorious destiny that awaits."

Raven was now backed into a corner, her eyes wide and heart pounding so loudly that she could hear it in her own ears.

"It's always the quiet ones…isn't it?" Slade said, his figure looming over her. A chill ran down her spine, her mind stopped working; it seemed like her body had turned off with only her heart pounding away in fear.

Slade continued to torment Raven with his words and she did the only thing she could with the adrenaline coursing through her veins, she ran.

Or more like, she flew.

She went to the person who makes her feel safe, herself, who she could trust with everything she has, who has always been there for her, the only one who could give her a feeling of calm and peacefulness during the toughest of times.

Who loves her and who she loves in return.

She went to Speedy.

Speedy was frozen, with his one hand extended upwards as he almost fell on his rear. Raven placed her hand on his heart and a blue glow emitted from it, successfully unfreezing him.

He was almost about to fall and Raven on instinct snaked one her hands around his back and one held his hand. She almost fell because of his bulky frame but her magic helped to steady her.

Speedy was confused, he was expecting pain from falling on his back but instead he felt soft and warm hands around his back and on his hand. It took him some time to wrap his head around what was happening but that could be due to the blows he took.

After a couple of short moments, he looked up and saw his saviour, Raven. He grinned like a lovesick puppy and despite the situation they were in he couldn't help but flirt "I don't know what it is about you...but I can't help but fall for you every single time."

Raven just gave him a fearful look and that was enough to bring him back to reality, she quickly casted her magic and they both were teleported to an abandoned street, where it seemed like time had also stopped.

Speedy quickly got up and looked at Raven, all his previous humour was lost as he asked "Is Slade here for…?"

He didn't want to complete the question, and he didn't need to as the empath just nodded and looked off in the distance. He gulped in fear and looked at the dark beauty whose face was stoic as usual, something that she learnt from her father, Batman.

But she couldn't hide her eyes, they were filled with anticipation and fear for the future and the archer couldn't blame her, he himself was dreading the future for the first time.

But before they could say or do anything Slade's shadow loomed over them, he jumped off a building and was standing in front of them when Speedy came between the villain and the dark beauty and told her to run while he fought with the masked villain.

Raven followed his command with a little reluctance as she took a last look at Speedy throwing punches at the villain before her magic enveloped her in their darkness.

Speedy gave a fair fight to the villain but that all changed when Slade blasted him with the new fire magic he had acquired. Raven saw this and rushed to the place where the flames were alive.

Her heart had slowed down a lot, this time her fear was greater; she did not fear the loss of her life as much as she did of losing the ones she loved. She couldn't lose him, she couldn't-

Suddenly Slade came in front of her, she was too busy looking for the archer and she didn't notice the villain looming closer to her.

_Skies will burn. Flesh will become stone. The sun will set on your world, never to rise again._

Slade prophesized as Raven tried to hold him down with her magic but nothing seemed to affect him. He suddenly grabbed her and marks of her father came on her skin again, she fell down and using that distraction to her advantage she used to rocks of trap the villain as she levitated over to the place where flames were still emitting from.

"Speedy!" Raven cried as she moved the fallen boulders and saw him coughing as he was struggling to get up. She helped him up and ran to a nearby church and closed the door behind them before she gently set him down.

Raven was healing him and muttering apologies under her breath and repeating that she shouldn't have dragged him in it, he slowly stood up but before she could say anything flames burst through the door and Speedy was through to a side, his groans could be heard but then a wall of fire stood between the archer and the empath.

Raven slowly looked towards the source of this and saw the menacing gaze of Slade staring back.

Raven tried running from him but it was of no avail, he could match her now with his new flame powers and his ability to fly. It was only a matter of time before he caught her and when he did; he ripped her cloak and suddenly her entire body was covered in the marks of Scath.

Raven tried to fight back but Slade was quicker and stronger, he grabbed her arm and suddenly pain erupted through her body, her leotard was in tatters and her hair grew to reach her waist. She fell down on her knees groaning and wrapped her arms around herself, as if to protect herself.

She slowly opened her eyes and when she saw the view she wish she hadn't, the sky was blood red, buildings were broken, the tower was almost sinking, and red eyed birds were making the only sound in the city or possibly the world. Her friends were turned to stone; all of them had fearful expressions.

Her heart broke at the sight, her eyes wide with fear but also disbelief. She didn't want to believe that this happened but Slade continued to edge her on. He very subtly pushed her towards the edge and said "You are going to end the world Raven…it's written all over your face,"

"NO!" Raven screamed and suddenly the illusion was destroyed and as was her spell, time resumed and everyone that was frozen came back to life.

The empath didn't have any energy left, her body had almost gone lax in the villains grip and she didn't even register when he had thrown her off the building.

Raven was falling, she wanted to summon her magic but she was too tired, too tired of fighting, of living in fear of her future so she decided to just let go.

She was about to touch the ground when suddenly Speedy used his grappling hook and swung by and saved the dark beauty, landing both of them securely on a nearby building. She was cradled in his arms in bridle style, his palm rested on her cheek and she slowly looked at him and saw his soft and gentle smile before closing her eyes again.

Speedy carefully picked her up and looked at the team who had just arrived there and was looking at the unconscious beauty in his arms with worry. Robin wanted to interrogate him but stopped when he saw his childhood friend give him a look; so he instead turned and said "Let's go home."

When they reached the tower, none of the titans wanted to let Raven out of their sight because of what transpired today so she was laid down on the couch, covered in a blanket in the Ops room. After a couple of minutes she opened her eyes because of the slight noise that her ears were being subjected to.

She slowly sat up and wrapped the blanket around her while seeing the entire Ops room converted as too how it was just this morning. Streamers and balloons were handing from the walls and there was a huge 'Happy Birthday' banner all sewn up and put up in the middle of the room.

Before she could look around for her friends she heard Robin say as he sat beside her on the couch "Look who's up." With that all her friends rushed towards her, Cyborg was carrying a huge birthday cake and he, Beastboy and Starfire were wearing party caps. Raven couldn't help but look for the missing member when suddenly she felt warmth encase her.

She looked to the side and saw Speedy fixing another blanket on her and when he saw her look in his direction he gave her a playful wink and sat beside her after making sure that she was warm enough.

"That was quite a scare you gave us Raven." Speedy said and all the titans agreed with them. They all had question about the events that took place today but knew that now was not the right time to inquire when the dark beauty looked so shaken up so they decided to change the topic.

"Look we know that you didn't want a party….but we were hoping that you might reconsider." Cyborg said.

"Yeah." Beastboy said enthusiastically and then added in gentle tone while walking towards the empath "You may not like your birthday…but we are all glad that you were born."

"Yes friend Raven, your day of birth is a joyous occasion, which we wish to celebrate." Starfire added with a smile.

"So can we celebrate your birthday Raven?" Robin asked diverting the empath's attention towards him.

There was a moment of silence where Raven was looking at her friends, at all their gentle expressions full of hope and she could feel their love for her. She was overwhelmed by all their emotions hitting her at once but she remained stoic and said after a moment "We are going to need ice- cream."

With that cheers broke out in the room and all of them except ran to get the food set up and bring it near the couch.

Raven could feel the archer's gaze at her so she turned slightly and saw him looking at her with relief on his expression. He let out a shaky breath which he didn't know he was holding and said looking in her eyes "I am so glad you are okay Raven."

Raven took an arm out of the blankets she was cocooned under and placed on the archer's cheek and smiled when he leaned into her touch and said "How can I not be when you look after me so much?"

He smiled at her words and pulled away from her hand and gently eased her back into the blankets as their friends came back with cake, ice- cream and dinner they had prepared for her.

She smiled with her friends, and for the first time today exhaled in relief.

After their dinner, Speedy helped Raven to her room, she was still exhausted after today's events and left only after Raven assured him many times that she would call if she needs anything.

He entered his room and sat on his bed, he ran a tired hand through his hair. He knew what he had to do. He took out his communicator and commanded the device "Speedy to Justice League headquarters."

After a couple of rings, the call was picked up and the archer saw his mentor, Green Arrow, Batman, Black Canary and Superman present there.

"Speedy…I was trying to contact you and Raven to-" Green Arrow started but paused when he saw the worried expression on his protégé's face. Apparently even Batman observed his expression as he asked in his stoic voice "Is everything alright?"

Speedy sighed and said "Something happened today….the prophesy…"


	13. Chapter 13: Calm before the storm

**_Assume Standard Disclaimer_**

**_Re-Written Version_**_**. **_

_**Please note that in this story the events of 'The end' take place right after episode 'birthmark'. And I have combined the three episodes- **_**The End, July 9 2005, The End part-3**

_**This is a filler chapter. The big fight is coming up.**_

**Episode- The End, July 9 2005, The End part-3**

_Previously-  
"Speedy…I was trying to contact you and Raven to-" Green Arrow started but paused when he saw the worried expression on his protégé's face. Apparently even Batman observed his expression as he asked in his stoic voice "Is everything alright?"_

_Speedy sighed and said "Something happened today….the prophesy…"_

It was drizzling ever so slightly, raindrops rested like dew on blades of grass and new washed leaves. The city of Jump seemed peaceful, calm and serene, resting in the dead of the night unknowing of the storm brewing above them slowly.

But not everyone was uninformed about this upcoming chaos. The protectors of the city, the teen titans were brainstorming ways and trying to come up with battle strategies to fight Trigon.

After Raven revealed the truth about her lineage to the team, she was expecting to be shunned even after Speedy's constant reassurances but she was pleasantly surprised nothing of that sort happened, she considered herself stupid for thinking this, doubting them and the bond they all shared. They were her friends; they would fight for her till their last breathe just like she would for them.

The titans were sitting peacefully in the Ops room, trying to get their minds off of the impending fight. Taking one night off to relax their minds, even their overworking and fearless leader had agreed to this. They all were watching a movie which this time was suggested by Cyborg and Beastboy was sulking in the background of having not being able to choose.

They were halfway in the movie when suddenly Robin's communicator started beeping but before he could check it their screen switched from the movie they were watching to a sign which stated that a plain is landing on their roof. The team looked at each other in confusion, having no information about someone who might come to visit them. They suddenly snapped into attention and were about to rush towards the door to head to the roof when suddenly they heard very silent footsteps echoing in the hallway and suddenly the doors opened.

And there stood the intimidating figures of the Superman, Green Arrow and last but not the least Batman. The young heroes stood in shock staring at the world's mightiest heroes in front of them.

The first one to snap out of his shock was the protégé of the dark knight, all credit to the training he got from his mentor. He walked towards his mentor and greeted him with a question as to why he was away from Gotham.

Batman didn't reply to his question, he simply looked at the entire team, his eyes softened for a very brief period which couldn't be noticed by everyone, curtesy of his mask when he looked at the girl he had always seen as his daughter. He diverted his attention and said in his gruff voice "We need to speak to Raven, Speedy and Robin alone."

Robin narrowed his eyes at his mentor, seeming to understand what he wanted to talk about and before anybody could move even an inch from their space, he said "They are my team…you can say what you want in front of them…and they know."

Batman studied his protégé for a couple of minutes, there was a silent staring match between them but Robin was unnerved from his observant and intimidating gaze and ultimately the Gotham vigilante relented.

The heroes settled in their respective chairs in the conference room while the Justice League heroes took the lead with Superman starting "Yesterday we were alerted from Doctor Fate that there was an intense surge of magic here in Jump City…more specifically demonic magic."

The entire room was silent, the teen heroes remembering the horrid events which took place not twelve hours prior and that to on the dark beauty's birthday. Speedy looked at his comrade sitting next to him with her usual stoic expression set in place and he placed his hand on top of hers, which was resting on her lap to show his silent comfort and support.

She looked up at him and he gave her an encouraging smile before turning towards the Justice Leaguers with Batman and Green Arrow staring at them, obviously seen the silent exchange between comrades but chose to not say anything and the bat taking the lead.

"And he further said that he had a vision….of Trigon." He paused and his eyes found Raven who had fear written on her face at the mention of the name and he hated what he saw.

He hated feeling helpless; he knew that magic was beyond him, that he was just a man who couldn't protect his daughter from this. He decided that he hates magic.

Apparently Batman wasn't the only one who noticed the dark beauty's distress, Speedy's grip on her hand tightened and Robin placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Both of them trying to comfort the girl they had grown up with and cared about.

"We suspect that the time has come." Batman internally winced, he wanted to just go to her and comfort his little girl and hide her away so that she could never get hurt but he couldn't, he was a hero right now not a father and continued "Doctor Fate will be arriving shortly with the rest of the league to prepare us and we have spoken with the Mayor to evacuate Jump City…..Robin, I need the Teen Titans to help with the evacuation to get it done faster."

Robin nodded along with the rest of the teenage heroes. The meeting ended, everyone started shuffling out of the room, and Green Arrow and Superman had called Speedy aside for something, the red headed boy had frowned at the prospect of leaving the dark beauty at this time but followed and promised to be back quickly.

Robin was briefing his team with the exception of Raven and Speedy about the new duties that the dark knight had given to them; while everyone was busy Raven had slipped out of the room, escaping from everyone's eyes but the Gotham vigilante's. He followed her and was not surprised when he found her on the roof, she always did love nature and open spaces.

"Raven." He said with affection lacing his normally monotone voice, she turned; she had already sensed him coming after her, the fatherly love glowing as his aura made her happy but also made it hard to miss.

"Dad." She said with equal affection in her voice and embraced him, her heavy heart feeling a little lighter in the safety of her father's arms.

"How are you?" he asked softly, still hugging her. He needed to make sure that she was okay; when Speedy had called and told them what had happened, he almost felt his heart stop, he was filled with the worry of the wellbeing of his daughter and he couldn't get to the tower faster. Now that he has seen her with his own eyes, he is filled with rage aimed towards the cause of his daughter's worries and the one who tormented her.

"I'm fine, I think." She replied her voice shaky. She could feel worry and anger radiating of off him and didn't want to worry him further, and also she didn't want to talk about it.

He understood what she wasn't saying and hugged her tighter, afraid of letting her go and tried to reassure her "It will all be okay, Raven. I will make sure of it."

"Thank you dad." Raven said with tears lacing her eyes. They stood there in silence for a couple of minutes when Raven said in a very low volume "I'm glad that you are my father, blood or not."

His heart tightened at those words and the fierce bat's heart melted as he said with all the love he has for her "You are my daughter Raven, never doubt it." And he kissed her forehead as they parted.

He made sure that she okay before he left her alone to her thoughts, he knew that she needed sometime alone to reflect and headed back inside. No matter how much he hates to admit it maybe a certain red headed boy can help her.

After Batman left Raven alone on the roof, she sat down on the edge, her legs dangling from the edge and tried to focus on the wind which blew past her, making her skin erupt in goosebumps, instead of the storm that was coming in the form of her destiny.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she felt a hand on her shoulder; she turned her head and was surprised to see Robin standing there, with a small smile on his face.

"Hey." He said softly and sat beside her, copying her position. She nodded in greeting and they both were caught in a comfortable silence, looking over the city and the water separating the tower from the city.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" The bat protégé said after a few minutes of silence, referring to the view in front of them. "It is." The dark beauty confirmed.

He didn't say anything further, he knew that she would say what was troubling her in her own time and just with a gentle push, and he would just have to be patient with her. He had grown up with her, granted she was closer to Speedy because the relationship between Dinah and Oliver; but she was Bruce's daughter and they had also shared some time together. He did know her, in his own way, different from how the red headed archer.

"What's on your mind Raven?" he asked in a gentle tone. She refused to look at him, her face stoic, hiding her emotions something clearly she had learnt from the bat.

"I don't know what to do Robin." She said softly after a long, excruciating silence between them. He turned to look at her and felt helpless when he saw her eyes glistening.

He knew he couldn't comfort her right now, she needed space to for her to bare her soul to him.

"I don't think I can do this." She admitted and he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion before she continued "I don't think I am strong enough to fight my father."

"Don't say that Raven, you can-"

"Robin! You all are about to risk your lives for me; for a problem that has arisen because of my destiny, my lineage…if I wasn't here then ma-"

He interrupted her there and said with passion in his voice "If you weren't here, then this team wouldn't be the same, our lives wouldn't have been the same."

Raven was silent and Robin took it as an opportunity to continue "Raven, I don't think you realize the impact you have made on all our lives, and you underestimate how much we love you and till what lengths we will go to, to keep you safe."

"But that's the point Robin, you shouldn't have to." Raven said exasperated, "You shouldn't have to put my life before yours."

He stayed silent, letting her words sink in; when he suddenly said "Remember the time we were playing in the manor, I had been there for not more than a week and we broke Bruce's family heirloom vase, which he took loved so dearly….I remember being afraid of him so much, worried that he will send me back, or even hit me but you reassured me…Raven, you took the blame, you protected me, reassured me that he will not do any of those things."

"Raven, I don't think you realize the importance you have in all our lives." He said not giving Raven the chance to deny his claims; he saw her glossy eyes and continued with a gentle smile on his face, she needed to hear this.

"The fierce Batman, who is the toughest hero on this earth, who deals with the worst that humanity has to offer let you in his family, in his heart; it is not a hidden fact that B hates supernatural beings or meta humans but he had an exception, you…his daughter."

He closed his eyes, speaking from the heart "Black Canary treats you like her sister, Green Arrow, heck the entire Justice League adores you so much Raven…..even Jason who has been so cautious around everyone, even Bruce, opened up to you….

….Raven, you go shopping and do girly stuff with Starfire even though you hate it, you help Cyborg with his cars, you have been there for Beastboy when Terra happened, and you have been there for Speedy and I since we were kids."

A tear threatened to slip down her cheeks and she was about to say something when a familiar voice said from behind them, a voice that caused warmth to erupt in her body. She felt the emotions and with the auras she felt that there were more people behind her.

She didn't want to let them see her be weak so she hid her face from them with her cloak when a warm hand turned her gently by her shoulder and she reluctantly looked at him knowing that he will never judge her.

Tears threatened to burst from her eyes as she saw her friends, her team: Starfire, Beastboy, Cyborg and Robin looking at her with encouraging smiles on their faces with Batman, Superman and Green Arrow standing in their powerful stances, making her feel something that she hadn't since her birthday…Safe.

Their warm aura's wrapping around her like a blanket. She felt him gently take a hold of her hands as her eyes found the boy in front of her, _Speedy. _He was there for her in ways that she couldn't describe and she never felt more grateful to have him in her life than she did in that moment. She smiled weakly at him and he reassuringly squeezed her hands.

She was met with his smile he said "Robin is right, Raven…..

_You have been there for us now let us be there for you."_

_**Thank you for reading.  
Please read and Review.**_


	14. Chapter 14

_**Disclaimer- I don't own anything.  
Sorry for the late update…but here it is. **_

**A/N- Please read the first 13 chapters as I have re written them and a few relationships between the characters have changed.  
**

**Episode- The End, July 9 2005, The End part-3**

_Previously-_

_Their warm aura's wrapping around her like a blanket. She felt him gently take a hold of her hands as her eyes found the boy in front of her, Speedy. He was there for her in ways that she couldn't describe and she never felt more grateful to have him in her life than she did in that moment. She smiled weakly at him and he reassuringly squeezed her hands. _

_She was met with his smile he said "Robin is right, Raven….._

_You have been there for us now let us be there for you."_

The sun had gone to rest with the moon coming to take its place; the night was eerily silent with the only sounds being that of the waves crashing against Titan Island.

All the heroes except two were sleeping, preparing themselves for the upcoming storm. Preparations had begun with the arrival of Doctor Fate and the justice league, a safe room had been made, sealed with runes and demonic magic; assured by Doctor Fate that Trigon will not be able to influence Raven inside this room.

An unsettling feeling washed over the purple haired beauty, her body was burning with the fiery marks of Scath but on the contrary her blood ran cold, with fear of the upcoming event. She knew that the odds of them winning were slim and she feared the fate of the people inhabiting this tower more than anything, she has made sure that they will not turn into stone if Trigon ascends but she still fears if they would be able to defeat Trigon.

She fell back in the comfort of her bed, wondering why her destiny was to bring the end of the world, why she couldn't be a normal girl.

But before she could ponder even further there was a knock on her door and she wondered who would be up so late, she felt an emotion through her empathy that was specific to one person, the one who made her heart flutter, the one who was with her always. _Roy._

Without getting up from her bed, she used her magic to let him in but only after making sure that the marks on her body will not be visible to anyone, she didn't want to worry him any more than he already was.

He entered her room in his black sleeping shorts and a white wife beater, filling it with his warm aura as he walked towards the beauty resting on her queen sized bed. His mind was going crazy with worry as many scenarios flashed in his head as he tried to sleep so he did the only thing he knew to do to put his mind at ease, he went to Raven.

Almost all his worries left him as soon as he saw the girl he has loved for so long lying on her bed in a starfish position, looking so carefree that a smile painted itself on his lips and he found himself lying next to her as she silently made space for him.

They lay there side by side, enjoying the silence knowing that they wouldn't get calm moments like this for a while now, both of their instincts screaming at them that the fight is near.

"I am scared of tomorrow." Raven admitted in a voice of soft that if Roy wasn't laying next to her then he probably wouldn't have understood it. He turned on his side and looked the empath who was staring at the ceiling, her eyes shiny and form vulnerable. He hated seeing her like this, she was usually the strong one and then to see her vulnerable hurt his heart.

He placed his hand on her outstretched one, near his head and gave it a little squeeze silently trying to comfort her. She looked at him and the sight broke his heart, she had tears glistening from her eyes and a dejected look on her face. He knew he had to do something.

"Come with me." Roy said suddenly getting up from her bed and pulling her with him to do the same as well. She groaned in protest but he wasn't having any of it. He let go of her hand and she fell back on her bed, she looked at him approaching her, not understanding what he was doing.

She saw him with a confused expression as he knelt on the side of the bed for a moment, only to slide his hands under her knees and her back. She yelped as she was lifted into his strong arms as she started squirming and protesting "Roy, put me down."

He paid no mind to it, just kissed her forehead silently and walked to his destination. While she flustered under the simple act of affection and refused to look up at him, trusting him.

She opened her eyes when she felt wind caress her face and saw that he had transported them to the roof. The city lights shining against the dark night, the sounds of waves crashing against the island rocks serenaded the pair into calmness.

She thought that now that they had reached their destination, he would let her go but that was not the case as he walked till he couldn't walk more and asked her to take off his domino mask which she did revealing his beautiful emerald eyes. She was about to ask him what they were doing here when he said not looking at her "Do you trust me?"

She didn't even hesitate before answering his question, although she was confused "More than anything."

He grinned and then looked into her eyes and asked "Do you trust yourself?"

She tilted her head but answered his question with a yes. And if possible his grin just got wider as he said "Good, because I trust you too."

But before she could say anything he said in a rush "Because our lives are in your hand now." And jumped off the roof with her in his arms.

"What are you doing, Roy?" She screamed at him, his expressions were so calm with his eyes closed that it didn't look like he had jumped from the roof of a very high building, her form now hugging his as she hid her face in his neck and promised to kill him later for laughing at this moment.

"We all trust you Raven, you just have to trust yourself now." Roy said yelling, adrenaline pumping through his veins and holding her even more securely to him.

Her mind went blank for a couple of seconds her heart beating faster, his words sinking in, a rush flowing through her making her feel _free._

Free from the burden of her destiny, her demonic father, and most importantly free from the fear she has carried around since she got to know of her destiny, free from fearing herself and free from fearing tomorrow.

A million butterflies erupted in her stomach, as all her worries left her even if it was for a moment. In that moment she didn't think about the upcoming fight but she lived in that moment in the arms of the boy she has loved since she was child.

Just before they could touch the ground he tightened his hold of her and she opened her eyes summoning her powers as she levitated the both of them till their feet touched the ground of the roof.

They landed on the roof safely and Speedy slowly parted from her, rubbing his neck as he looked at her looking at him in an unrecognizable expression and nervously opened his mouth to offer an explanation, thinking that she may be angry with him but before any words could come out of his mouth Raven bolted towards him.

Only this time his heart skipped beats all the while thudding furiously, the adrenaline still running through his veins as the girl of his dreams wrapped her arms around his neck while claiming his lips with hers.

Giving them both their first kiss.

0O0

_**I know this chapter was small but I just wanted to update as I haven't in a while and am working on the big fight. It's taking time but it is coming together.**_

_**Enjoy.**_

_**Thank you for reading.**__**  
Please read and Review.**_


	15. Chapter 15

_**Disclaimer- I don't own anything.  
Sorry for the late update…but here it is. **_

_**Please note that in this story the events of 'The end' take place right after episode 'birthmark'. And I have combined the three episodes- **_**The End, July 9 2005, The End part-3**

**A/N- Please read the first 13 chapters as I have re written them and a few relationships between the characters have changed.  
**

**Episode- The End, July 9 2005, The End part-3**

Red-black clouds sprawl across the sky, billowing in from the west. Their brassy glare drains colour from houses and trees and burnished cars in driveways, leaving neighbourhood's tinted bronze in the faltering light. The air grows heavy and the humidity presses down, suffocating. The scent of ash and fire is dark and heady. Stillness falls over the street, empty of the usual chittering of the citizens of Jump city.

The titans and the Justice league injured find shelter in the only intact building in the now burnt city, the titan tower standing in all its glory all courtesy of the fallen hero.

Speedy, his uniform in tatters and his body filled with cuts and bruises but his heart hurting way more than his body did, dragged himself to the roof where not nine hours ago he had his first kiss with the love of his life. He touched his lips falling down on his knees on the rooftop, his eyes welling up with tears as he remembered those moments and grief overtook his body.

_He stood there dumbfounded feeling her soft lips on his, his mind turning blank, heart beating fast and adrenaline still rushing through his veins from the jump and now her kiss. _

_Slowly he started to unfreeze and wrapped his arms around her waist and began responding to the kiss causing her arms to wrap around his broad shoulders. They both were unexperienced, a little nervous but going with their instinct and __**finally**__ acting on their feelings. _

_Both nervous, hesitant in their movements but pouring all the love they feel for each other through their movements. Slowly they synced and fireworks erupted in his heart as her hand wound in his hair and he pulled her closer. White hot electricity rushed through his veins as pulled her even closer, taking control of the kiss and deepening it._

_Begrudgingly they slowly parted their arms still around each other, both breathing heavily, lips swollen and red and hearts filled with love which was not yet ready to be expressed. He smiled that heart-warming, sincere smile of his at her, only at her; while she blushed and looked down a tiny smile on her lips._

_His heart elated seeing her blush, worries of the future seemingly forgotten even if for a few fleeting moments and to just stay in this moment for a few more minutes he suddenly crushed her to his chest and buried his face in her neck. _

_She felt his emotions, an unspoken connection between them, everything that he wasn't saying and wrapped her arms around him, trying to reassure him for what even she didn't know. _

_He wasn't ready to let her go and he knows that he never will be. _

Tears started falling from his unmasked eyes and on the harsh unforgiving floor as he remembered the events which led up to this.

_**9 hours ago**_

The red headed hero woke up after dreams filled with the empath and the loving moments they shared, a huge blinding smile on his face as he dreamily made his way out of bed and to his washroom, quickly grooming himself, spending more time than usual on his face and hair before quickly making his way to the common room, to the girl of his dreams.

He was so lost in the blissful memories of their first kiss that he didn't even acknowledge the burning stench coming from the kitchen. He almost floated to the bar stools, his instincts guiding him to her, sighing and supporting his head with his palm as he watched the dark beauty in front of him.

He didn't even pay acknowledge to what she was doing but focused on how hair swayed as she moved around the kitchen, the same hair that he had tangled his hand into. How her eyes sparkled, the same eyes that looked at him with affection mirroring his own as they lost themselves in each other; her red pouty lips about which he had always wondered if they would feel as soft as they look and now he knew-

He was rudely snapped out of his daze when a heavy hand was placed on his shoulder, slightly annoyed he looked up and saw his mentor grinning at him mischievously and wiggling his eyebrows to which he smiled sheepishly and rubbed his neck, a blush coating his cheeks.

"If you are going to stare at her" Green Arrow said with a teasing smile and amusement shining in his eyes and continued "then it's best that you do it discreetly."

Speedy turned even redder at his words and then almost ashen when he saw where his mentor was indicating. The dark knight was sitting not a few paces away from him and giving the red head his signature death glare, protectiveness of his daughter screaming through his being making Speedy wanting to run for the hills, only he knew that nothing could save him from the bat themed hero's protectiveness and wrath where his beloved daughter was concerned.

He mustered every bit of courage he had and smiled nervously but that faltered when he saw the bat protégé, the titan leader and his childhood friend glaring at him in a similar fashion. He looked away and engaged in a conversation with Cyborg and Starfire who had just entered the Ops room, trying to ignore the fact that he had two overprotective bats monitoring his every move. He tried to focus on the rest of the heroes filling in.

As if he just entered the real world, his senses were assaulted by the stench overpowering the kitchen and his zeroed on the burnt monstrosities still cooking. He hesitantly looked up and saw Raven standing with a blank expression and a spatula in her hand. Her eyes showed determination, making him gulp nervously.

They had to eat that, what was supposed to be pancakes and their breakfast. He looked at her again and saw her determinedly taking out the pancakes from the pan but they seemed to be stuck, she tried and after a while it came out. She gathered the burnt and sticky pancakes in a plate and turned to heroes looking at her nervously, but she didn't notice, she was too focused on making the breakfast.

She smiled one of her genuine small smiles and said offering the heroes the plate "Morning…pancakes?"

"Uh…thanks." Beastboy said confused and scared of eating the said pancakes. She turned setting the heaping pile in front of them to gather some toppings for the pancakes while all the heroes shared a look and then stared at the pancakes.

They had to eat the pancakes in front of them, they didn't have the heart to say no. Raven had made them, for the first time she had tried to cook and she presented them with so much affection that they all knew they would eat it.

Everyone sat around the table, one pancake in each of their plates. They all took a bite and an awful taste exploded in their mouth. It seemed like their tongue was on fire and that sticky, burned taste would never leave their mouths. They looked at her expectant face staring at them and very reluctantly swallowed it.

"It was nice of Raven to cook us breakfast, right guys?" Robin said nudging his team who were drowning the pancakes in chocolate syrup, maple syrup or in Starfire's case, Mustard to mask that awful taste. They all nodded and gave forceful smiles making the empath smile and return back to whatever chore she was doing.

The Justice League looked at the 'pancake' in front of them and then at each other, only Martian Manhunter and Starfire were enjoying it so naturally they quickly tossed theirs into the alien's plates.

The heroes put a smile on their face and thanked the girl for breakfast and turned leaving the titans behind. Meanwhile Speedy was confused by the empath's behaviour, she had agreed to train with Robin, paint toe nails with Starfire and play extreme stankball after their training with the Justice League.

Speedy stayed back until it was only Raven and him in the kitchen when he turned to her and said with concern overflowing his aura "Is everything okay?"

She raised an eyebrow, trying to act nonchalant and answered "Yes, Speedy everything is fine, why wouldn't it be?"

A nagging feeling developed in his mind, something was wrong, there was something that she wasn't telling him and said with hesitance in his voice "If you're sure."

She smiled and interlocked her fingers with his, leading him towards the training room, saying "Come on they must be waiting for us."

He let her lead him, the nagging feeling never leaving him and a feeling of something bad happening developing inside him.

It happened after training, the heroes were leaving the room as Batman stepped back to talk to Doctor Fate when suddenly the bright skies turned dark, gloomy, and ominous.

The ominous feeling inside Speedy deepened and it made his heart skip a beat when he heard Raven groan, his head snapped towards her direction standing next to Robin as she clutched her head and swayed, her knees bucking making her loose balance as she fell, red marking illuminating from her skin.

The red haired hero ran to the demoness who was held by her adoptive older brother. He fell on his knees next to her, his heart breaking as he saw tears in her eyes and the defeated look on her face, his attention was consumed by her that he failed to notice everyone who had gathered around them. He clutched her hand in his, refusing to look away from her as a pair of black masked hands wiped away her tears and caressed her hair.

He knew what was happening so he said in a voice not more than a whisper but with the dreadful silence around them everyone heard "Why didn't you tell us? It's happening isn't it?"

"I just wanted a few moments with everyone without my destiny looming over us." Raven replied, her eyes closing causing more tears to flow.

A few tears of his own wanted to surface but he pushed them back, knowing that he has to be strong for them today when she was vulnerable. Fear crept inside him knowing that their chance of winning is low and these might be their last moments.

But as he looked at the usual stoic empath being comforted by her adoptive and also usually stoic father, he knew that there wasn't a single thing he wouldn't do to make sure that these aren't his last moments with her, that she could tug at his nose like is her habit when she is annoyed by him and that he would have a lifetime with her.

The next couple of hours flew in frenzy, with everyone gearing up for the fight and trying to keep their minds off the danger lurking just around the corner. Strategies were made and all necessary steps of protection were being taken. Raven was taken to the enchanted safe room created specially by Doctor Fate to make sure that Trigon's influence doesn't reach her there.

Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Beastboy, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, Martian Manhunter were standing in front of the tower as the first and the strongest line of defence while the rest of the Justice League was assessing the situation all over the world and preparing for a contingency plan.

Speedy was making sure that Raven was settled in the safe room after that he would join the rest of the heroes to protect the world and the woman he loves with every bit of his heart.

The heroes had decided to let Speedy and Raven have a moment and had stepped away voluntarily after hugging the girl or in the case of the bat's kissing her forehead and assuring her that everything would be okay. Her protective father had also stepped away giving them a moment of privacy, for even the dark knight knew that there was no one better that the red headed archer for his daughter.

Speedy took a deep breath and walked inside the room, the doors closing behind him, giving them a reprieve from the world. He looked at the girl in front of him and felt for a moment that it was just the both of them in this world, just Roy and Raven, two teenagers who had grown up together, who knew each other better than anyone in this world and who had feelings for each other.

"It's time, I should go." Roy said softly, his eyes never moving from her. She took a few steps toward him and reached forward, gently removing the mask from his eyes and interlacing her fingers with his when she accomplished her task.

Emerald met amethyst and the empath started, her eyes never leaving his "I…..I have to tell you something Roy." He smiled, he knew what she wanted to tell him, he always did know her better than anyone, even herself and shook his head slightly making her tilt her head in confusion.

His free hand reached up and caressed her face, making her lean into it as he said "Not like this Raven, not now when…"

His voice cracked at the end but he took a deep breath and continued "Not when we don't know what will happen, if-f we will be ali- *he took a deep, shaky breath*…I need you to tell me this after we return victorious."

Her face fell slightly, tears welled up in her beautiful eyes as she nodded and looked down. He reached forward and snaked his arm, which was previously caressing her face, around her waist and pulled her forward to crush her to him.

His arms wrapped tightly around her as if their warmth could protect her from any danger and for a moment it felt that way.

And after a couple of minutes he slowly whispered in her ear "I want you to tell me when the sun shines bright again in the sky, when you are not worried about your destiny, when Trigon cannot harm us anymore, when there is joy in your eyes instead of sadness, when you smile in front of me unafraid of anything in the world…I want you tell me then."

He smiled lightly as a tear slipped down his emerald orbs as he felt her nod, agreeing with him and he slowly and very reluctantly parted from her and gave her a kiss on the corner of the lips and stepped back, his arms instantly felt cold without his empath in them but he steeled himself and placed the mask on himself.

"Be safe Roy." She called out as a tear slipped down her cheeks and he smiled at her, standing at the threshold and said "You too Rae."

But before he left, he called out one last time and said "For the record, I do too Raven…forever." She smiled as she understood the meaning of his words and his heart elated seeing her smiling face before the doors closed and locked the security mode activating.

He joined the rest of the heroes, steeling himself and preparing for the fight of his life, ready to give whatever it takes to make sure that the dark beauty stays safe.

0O0

Slade walked towards them, demanding to take Raven with him.

Seeing him made the heroes blood boil, especially that of Batman, his overprotectiveness as a father surfacing as he stood in a attacking position, batarangs at the ready; behind him all the heroes standing in similar positions.

"No way." The dark knight growled, his voice gruffer than usual and eyes narrowed down.

The villain in turn also narrowed his eyes and said "You don't have a choice…I am taking her." And with that weird fire creature surrounded the heroes, capturing them inside a circle. And with the villain's command they all attacked the heroes.

Thus, the fight began.

The fire creatures or demons were fighting the heroes with Batman fighting Slade. The fight seemed like it would never end, as soon as they fought two demons four more appeared. Starfire and Superman tried to use their superpowers which provided them a short reprieve but that ended when they were held down by what looked like ropes made of fire.

Batman was winning against Slade when suddenly his eye widened and a burst of fire came from him and blasted the dark knight, the energy seeping through his Kevlar suit and greatly weakening them.

The archers had little or no success against these creatures as their arrows shot through them, not harming them even a little and the situation worsened when their bows and arrows were torcher leaving them unarmed and reliant on their hand to hand combat.

One by one all the heroes were taken down, these creatures were relentless and felt undefeatable. They all stood in front of the tower, weakened when more fire demons emerged and were about to attack again when a voice rang from behind them.

"Stop!"

It was Raven, _but she shouldn't be here_. Speedy thought _she should be inside where it is safe._

"Raven?"

Somebody asked in the background, but Speedy didn't have it in him to focus on who it was, he was focused on the levitating dark beauty coming towards them.

"I will go with you…..I can't hide from my destiny any longer." She said and before anybody could protect dark energy came from her and zapped in all the heroes present, lifting them slightly and gently putting them on the ground when they lost their consciousness.

"Be safe." Was the last thing Speedy heard before everything went black.

He woke up, groaning and clutching his head as he slowly opened his eyes and looked at the heroes around him, in similar position. As he came out of the state of unconsciousness everything that happened hit him with full force making him yell "Raven!"

He wished that everything that had happened was a nightmare, an illusion but not reality, never that but looking at the heroes with same expression of anguish and defeat he knew that this was reality.

While everyone was wallowing in their defeat Robin spoke up, acting as the fearless leader he is "We have no time to lose, we need to go to Raven now."

Batman placed a hand on his protégé's shoulder, both of them masking their emotions well but everyone knew their feelings well, and said "Robin is right…we don't have any time to lose." He then turned to Robin and asked "Do you know where she will be?"

Robin pursed his lips and turned to his team, they all knew where the ritual would take place and Cyborg spoke up "Where it all began…the abandoned church."

0O0

The heroes arrived just in time, fighting and removing the fire demons in front of them, giving the fight all their strength to make their way to Raven. They didn't even feel the pain anymore, consumed by their desire to stop Raven and protect her at all costs.

Raven turned as she heard commotion behind her and with a swipe of her hand all the fire demons fighting the heroes vanished.

"It has already begun and there is no stopping what is meant to be." Raven said her posture screaming defeat as she took of her hood and looked down.

"I have known my whole life that this day was going to come, I tried to fight it but…but I can't anymore."

"I don't accept it." Batman said in a gruff tone looking at the girl in front of him; his baby girl, his daughter, no he will not accept defeat and let a demon and some prophesy take his daughter away. He will fight till his last breath to make sure that all his loved ones are safe.

"You can fight Raven, you can take control." Superman said as he walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her an assuring smile.

She shook her head, looking down and it was Robin who spoke next "Then let us fight with you, Raven."

She shook her head and said "No, this is my fight…I have to do it alone."

Before anyone could say anything Speedy walked towards her and held her hand and said "You are never alone Raven; you are our friend, our family…let us fight for you."

She looked up at him and he thought that he got through to her but was shocked when she freed her hand from his, stepping back and casting a black shield around the heroes, to protect and contain them. "Then as my friends, my family…you have to let me go."

Speedy ran forward and hit the shield as did all the heroes behind him but all their efforts were in vain, the shield remained unaffected. "Thank you for everything you have done for me, I am grateful to have such wonderful friends and family….I love you all." Raven rasped out before turning and levitating towards the top ignoring the protests behind her.

Batarangs, laser, arrows, brute force everything was tried but the shield did not move. They all kept hitting it with everything they had until they heard Raven chanting  
"_The gem was born of evil's fire,  
the gem shall be his portal  
when he comes to claim, he comes to sire,  
the end of all things mortal."_

A white light erupted from Raven, momentarily blinding them as Speedy, Batman and Robin cried "Raven!"

The ceiling started falling as fire came from above and they knew they had lost when they heard a sinister voice exclaiming "The earth is mine!"

_**Thank you for reading.**__**  
Please read and Review.**_


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